This piece examines what the Lagos-Calabar reroute reveals about feasibility studies, restrictive bidding and environmental review in major public works.
A route changed by conditions on the ground
The Federal Government has directed that part of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway should follow the existing East-West Road from Ondo into Edo State instead of taking a new coastal alignment. Works Minister Dave Umahi said the decision reflected difficult terrain and unsuitable soil along the original route. He said the planned alignment crossed pits more than 100 metres deep and areas where suitable sharp sand was unavailable at depths of up to 300 metres. Earlier changes in Ondo included a detour and redesign, with filling works exceeding 10 metres in some places described as almost complete. The affected Ondo-Edo corridor, including a 45-kilometre Benin bypass, measures 104 kilometres.
Why restrictive bidding matters
The government said it selected Hitech Construction Company Ltd. through restrictive bidding, a procurement method in which competition is limited to invited or otherwise selected suppliers rather than opened broadly to the market. That approach can be used where the procuring authority considers a narrower field appropriate, but it places particular importance on the quality of the information used to define the work and assess bidders. An infrastructure analyst alleged that inadequate bidding and environmental assessment had allowed the Ondo conditions to go undetected before award. The allegation has not been proven. The rerouting has instead renewed scrutiny of whether the original procurement adequately tested the route’s technical risks before construction began.
Environmental review and community access
Nigeria’s Environmental Impact Assessment Act provides for environmental effects to be assessed before a project proponent makes a final decision to proceed or begins physical work. Section 24 requires draft EIA reports to be displayed publicly for at least 21 working days. The Federal Ministry of Environment published draft environmental and social impact assessment reports for the first two Lagos sections in 2024, while the contractor’s non-technical summary for Section One says approval was issued on November 8, 2024, after construction had begun earlier that year. Ilaje Omuro Community Connect says the reroute could reduce coastal communities’ access to the highway’s economic benefits and has asked for the engineering, geological, environmental and financial reasons to be explained.
Realignment is not automatically a procurement failure
The dispute also illustrates a distinction important to large infrastructure procurement: a design change may reflect responsible adaptation, or it may expose weaknesses in the work done before award. Public affairs analyst Alli-Balogun Lekan said the highway had already changed to avoid critical subsea cables and to protect key infrastructure along the first 37 kilometres in Lagos. He described multiple realignments as standard engineering practice when field data emerges. Other critics, including former Cross River governor Donald Duke, have questioned whether a continuous coastal route through swampy terrain is practical. Meanwhile, officials reported that at least five kilometres of ClearVu fencing and about 18 kilometres of concrete covers had been removed from the Lagos section, adding asset-protection concerns to the planning debate.
IN NUMBERS
The highway’s reroute does not by itself establish that the procurement was defective. It does show why major works need credible feasibility studies, transparent reasons for restricted competition, timely environmental review and clear explanations when the approved design changes. Those checks help procuring authorities and bidders distinguish normal construction adaptation from risks that should have been identified before award.
Reported from businessday.ng, 2026-10-13. The Tender Wire is published by Otnox.
