Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, has revealed that a 50-year-old refuse dump with a depth exceeding 10 metres delayed the construction of the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway for over four months.
Umahi spoke in Lagos on Monday during an inspection of the highway project.
“We also encountered a refuse dump that had been over 50 years old and had over 10 metres depth and spanned two kilometres,” he said.
“When we encountered it, we had to stop the work for more than four months.”
The minister stated that the project initially faced some challenges starting from kilometre zero, where the Landmark Beach infrastructure and several other properties were encountered.
He said the ministry decided to alter the highway’s design, moving away from the original coastal alignment so as to preserve the structures.
“We decided as a responsible ministry to vary the design of the project,” Umahi said.
“The implication is that we left the coast and came to a new alignment that was not designed for the project.”
