The ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) has approved a $100 million loan to support Nigeria’s Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, providing a major boost for the Federal Government’s flagship infrastructure project.
The funding, targeted at the 47.7-kilometre stretch from Ahmadu Bello Way in Lagos, forms Section 1, Phase 1 of the planned 700km highway. Construction on the segment began in March 2024 and is being handled by Hitech Construction Company Limited.
The bank’s commitment was announced during the 92nd ordinary session of its Board of Directors, held on June 30, 2025. A report from the meeting, obtained on Thursday, revealed that EBID approved a total of €174 million and $125 million in support of various infrastructure and development initiatives across the West African region.
According to the bank, the Lagos-Calabar highway project will link nine Nigerian states, ease access to seaports and isolated agro-industrial areas, and support the growth of regional trade.
“This project, which spans 47.7km, will link nine Nigerian states, improve access to seaports and isolated agro-industrial areas, and contribute to the emergence of a regional value chain to help coastal communities,” the bank stated.
The highway is also expected to enhance logistics efficiency along Nigeria’s southern economic corridor and uplift the livelihoods of people in coastal communities.
In addition to the Nigerian project, EBID approved funding for several other development programmes across West Africa. These include:
Togo: €50 million for the construction and equipping of six technical and vocational training centres expected to train 3,480 young people annually.
Guinea: €28.9 million to upgrade four agricultural high schools, and another €95.16 million for three micro-hydropower plants with a combined capacity of 30MW aimed at boosting renewable energy access in rural areas.
Côte d’Ivoire: $25 million to support clinker imports by Société de Ciment de Côte d’Ivoire, helping to alleviate cement shortages in the construction sector.
EBID said these projects align with key United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 7 (Clean Energy), and SDG 9 (Infrastructure and Innovation). With this latest round of approvals, its cumulative financial commitment in West Africa has exceeded $5 billion.
The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, one of the Tinubu administration’s flagship infrastructure projects, is projected to be completed by 2028. Contracts worth over N3 trillion have been awarded across various sections.
According to Minister of Works David Umahi, Section I was awarded for N1.068 trillion, with 30 percent of the sum already disbursed. Section II—covering swampy terrain and featuring several bridges, including a connection to the Dangote Refinery—was awarded at N1.6 trillion. Sections IIIA and IIIB, covering Akwa Ibom and Cross River States, were jointly procured at N1.33 trillion.
In May 2025, President Bola Tinubu commissioned the first completed segment of the highway.
Efforts to get official comments from the Minister of Works were unsuccessful, as his media aide, Orji Uchenna, did not respond to requests for comment.
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