The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, has given the assurance that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is being constructed to withstand flood for about 50 years. Umahi gave the assurance at a stakeholder engagement on Section 2 of the highway project yesterday in Lagos.

He said: “We will make sure that our pavement level is going to counter any climate change.” According to him, the pavement level would be at the first floor of many buildings.

He said: “To retain the road, we are going to be building retaining board. It has already started. “We also have the cable duct so you don’t have to cut the road. “MTN, African Plus or any other network doesn’t have to cut the road.

The cables are there, I saw them.” He reiterated that there would be closed circuit television cameras on the road so that the response time for any issue would be less than five minutes. The minister also said the highway would have an evacuation corridor.

He said: “We are going to be earning carbon credit by the reason of the use of concrete pavement which will have no emission.” He said there would be trees all through on the road to make it exciting. He said: “We have the Dangote Refinery.

You need about 60 metres clearance for the trucks to go in and out. “We are now building a flyover that has a span of 60 metres, and then the next span is 41.6 metres counterbalance. “We are flying over Dangote Refinery, and the seven axial road is coming. It is going to be a point to behold. It is going to be another tourist site.

“Let me announce that along the corridor, there are lands that the state government has given us the right so we can build what I call relief centres where you can stop to have snacks, buy petrol.” He added that supermarkets and medical facilities would be part of the centres.