The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has said the Lagos-Calabar coastal road construction will take eight years to complete and cost N4bn per kilometre and not the N8bn per km reportedly claimed by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

This indicates that the total project will be completed at the cost of N2.8trn.

Umahi who spoke in an interview, however, said there are plans to recoup the money via tolling at N3,000 on average per toll gate when the coastal road is completed.

The minister also dismissed claims that the project did not follow the due procurement process, stating that the contract was awarded on a counter-funding basis and not on a Public-Private Partnership as widely claimed.

Atiku had questioned President Bola Tinubu administration’s decision to allegedly award the contract to Gilbert Chagoury’s Hitech without competitive bidding, daring the president to disclose the full cost of the Lagos-Calabar highway project.