The Federal Government has approached state governors to designate a 500-metre wide corridor along four key legacy road projects—the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, Abuja-Kano Road, Trans-Sahara Highway, and Akwanga-Jos-Bauchi-Gombe Road—to facilitate tolling infrastructure and enhance return on investment.
This announcement was made by the Minister of Works, David Umahi, during the commissioning ceremony for Section 1 of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and other road initiatives in the southern region of Nigeria on Saturday.
Umahi stated that the directive originated from President Bola Tinubu, aimed at ensuring more efficient execution and long-term sustainability of the projects through a toll-based public-private partnership (PPP) model.
“Mr President, it is a pleasure to see the governors present. I would like to communicate your order that the governors of the states traversed by the Coastal Highway, Abuja-Kano, Trans-Sahara Highway, and Akwanga-Jos-Bauchi-Gombe Road must allocate a minimum of 500 metres of land adjacent to our carriageway,” Umahi declared at the event.
“This allocation is integral to the tolling framework, ensuring a productive return on investment.”
He further noted that the Ministry of Works has already submitted mapped land proposals to the Lagos State Government and intends to do the same for Ogun, Ondo, Sokoto, and Kebbi states shortly.
**Key Information**
The Federal Government has repeatedly asserted that major road infrastructure, particularly capital-intensive legacy projects, will implement tolls to guarantee a sustainable return on investment.
The request for a 500-metre corridor from state governors aims to underpin tolling infrastructure and commercial services, thereby enhancing the viability of these initiatives within a public-private partnership (PPP) framework.
The four legacy roads earmarked for this arrangement include the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, Abuja-Kano Road, Trans-Sahara Highway, and the Akwanga–Jos–Bauchi–Gombe Road. Additionally, numerous other highways, whether planned or under construction, are anticipated to be tolled.
These projects fall under the Highway Development and Management Initiative (HDMI), which encourages private sector engagement in the development, operation, and maintenance of federal road assets.
In February 2025, Minister of Works David Umahi announced plans to implement tolls on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway following the completion of Phase 1, with tolling expected to commence even as Phase 2 progresses.
Similarly, in March 2025, the Federal Government inaugurated the 125 km Benin–Asaba Superhighway, a project fully financed by private investors under a PPP model in collaboration with Africa Plus Partners. Due to the financing structure, this project is also projected to be tolled to recover investment costs.
