The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has assured Nigerians that, the proposed 470 kilometres Abuja-Lagos Greenfield superhighway will be completed in four years and it will last for 100 years.
The minister said this in Lagos in a chat with journalists. He said the road will be built by a private sector consortium at no cost to the government.
He stated further that the consortium will operate the facility for a yet-to-be-determined period of time on a build, operate and transfer deal, adding that it will be tolled at different points to enable the investors to recoup their investment.
Umahi assured Nigerians that the four-and-a-half-hour travel time for vehicles plying the route at 100 kilometres per hour was achievable.
“When I first introduced this to the public, many doubting Thomases were saying ‘it is impossible, Lagos-Abuja that is done in 14 hours cannot be done in four and half hours’, that is the renewed hope of Mr. President,” he said.
He added that President Bola Tinubu approved that the project be speeded up, adding that the contractor should be on site in three months.
“The president has approved that I fast-track this project. This project is going to be two lanes, but each lane is going to be a two-carriage way and it is going to be 14 metres.
“The only carriageway that is equivalent to this is the Third Mainland Bridge where each carriageway is 14 metres. It is going to be built on 275-millimetre thick concrete.”
