The Federal Government has secured a $747 million syndicated loan to finance the first phase of the ambitious Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project.
According to a Reuters report citing the Ministry of Finance, the loan—coordinated by Deutsche Bank—will fund the initial 47.47-kilometre section of the 700-kilometre (435-mile) highway. The coastal road, once completed, will connect Lagos State in the southwest to Calabar in the southeast, forming a major infrastructure corridor along Nigeria’s southern coastline.
Finance Ministry spokesperson Mohammad Manga described the loan as the largest ever obtained by Nigeria for road infrastructure development. He confirmed the agreement on Thursday, stating that the funding represents a critical step in achieving the federal government’s infrastructure and connectivity goals.
Deutsche Bank served as global coordinator for the financing consortium, which includes First Abu Dhabi Bank, African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Abu Dhabi Exports Office, ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), and Zenith Bank.
The full highway project is estimated to cost around $11 billion and is projected to take approximately eight years to complete.
