By LYDIA CHIGOZIE-NGWAKWE

President Bola Tinubu will on Saturday inaugurate the completed portion of the Phase One, Section One of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.

The Minister of Works, Sen. David Umahi, made this known in a statement on Friday in Lagos.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the project is a flagship of the Tinubu administration under its Renewed Hope Agenda.

The completed portion is a 30km stretch.

The inauguration will take place at Kilometer Eight of the highway.

The completed portion marks a significant milestone in the first phase of the 750km coastal highway designed to enhance connectivity along Nigeria?s southern corridor.

Umahi said in the statement that the president described the inauguration as a fulfilment of a long-held vision he conceived more than two decades ago.

?This project is not just a road; it is a symbol of national integration, economic vitality, and social cohesion.

?For Mr President, this is a dream nurtured for 27 years becoming a legacy of transformation,? Umahi said.

He said that beyond easing transport and boosting commerce in coastal communities across nine states, the highway would stand as a hallmark of engineering excellence and aesthetics.

The minister said that the President would also be expected to virtually inaugurate some other completed signature infrastructure projects within Southern Nigeria.

According to him, the projects include the dualised East-West Road Section II (Eleme Junction?Ahoada) in Rivers, which spanned 94km.

Umahi said that the reconstructed Lagos-Ibadan Expressway (Sagamu?Ibadan Section), covering 166.8km, would be among the projects to be inaugurated.

He added that the 67.1km Alesi?Ugep Road in Cross River would also be inaugurated by Tinubu.

Umahi also said that the 75m dual Enugu Bridge at New Artisan Market would be inaugurated as well as the constructed 65m New Akpoha Bridge in Ebonyi.

The President will also inaugurate the Lagos?Badagry Expressway Expansion (Agbara Junction to Nigeria/Benin Border) covering 48.6km, according to Umahi.

The minister said the President would flag off construction of new critical road projects such as the Ibadan?Ife?Ilesha?Akure?Benin Road spanning four states, the Nembe?Brass Road, and sections of the Enugu?Onitsha expressway totalling 107km.

Tinubu will also flag off Abakpa Flyover construction in Enugu State.

Umahi said that top government officials, including state governors ? especially from the coastal states ? National Assembly members, ministers, heads of parastatal-agencies and development partners would be expected at the event.

He said that the Minister of State for Works, Mr Bello Goronyo, would join in welcoming dignitaries and stakeholders to the event, which he described as a celebration of a transformative chapter in Nigeria?s infrastructure story.

Umahi gave the assurance that all arrangements for the inauguration, including security of guests, had been taken care of. (NAN)

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