Company Expresses Readiness to Commence Work on Abuja/Lagos Superhighway

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The AEC Unity Network Limited, the company designated to undertake the construction of Abuja/Lagos Superhighway has said that it is now ready to commence work on the project. Kenny Martins, Chairman of AEC Unity Network Limited said at a press briefing in Lagos that the AEC had “concluded the preliminary aspects of the project designs, studies and Approvals”, and was now awaiting the approval of the federal government for them to go to site.

He expressed confidence that recently approved construction on the 470-kilometer Abuja-Lagos superhighway project will facilitate easier and cheaper commuting between Nigeria’s two great cities, while opening up economic opportunities in communities along the route to the benefit of countrymen and women.

Martins, while speaking at press conference held at the Oriental Hotel Lagos, disclosed that the company was in talks with states along the way of the Superhighway for the provision of infrastructure that will enhance economic development in the areas. That way the states and their communities will take full advantage of the road for the advancement of the economy.  

He said: “The superhighway will be strategic in several ways, because it will not only open up the villages through which it will pass, it will also provide a much more convenient alternative for those who are only travelling to any of the states through which the highway passes which includes Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, Kwara, Kogi, Niger and Abuja.”

The AEC Chairman emphasised that the project represents a departure from traditional foreign financing models, noting that AEC Unity opted for a hybrid arrangement with local and international partners rather than sovereign guarantees, earlier promoted but dropped due to Nigeria’s existing foreign debt obligations.

He said AEC Unity Network Ltd has assembled a project consortium to drive the project.  Among them are major partners such as UBA PLC as the project bank, China Harbour Engineering Company handling contractor financing of approximately $1 billion for 100 kilometers of construction, United Capital PLC as the mandated lead arranger, and various legal and engineering consultants.

 Talks for the project started six years ago under the last administration.