President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has commended the Federal Ministry of Finance and other key institutions for successfully securing USD 1.126 billion in financing for Phase 1, Section 2 of the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway, describing the deal as a major milestone in Nigeria’s infrastructure drive.
In a statement by Presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, the President praised the Ministries of Finance and Works, alongside the Debt Management Office, for their collaboration in closing the transaction.
He said the financing would ensure uninterrupted progress on what he described as one of Africa’s most ambitious and transformative infrastructure projects.
“This is a major achievement, and closing this transaction means the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway will continue unimpeded. Our administration will continue to explore available funding opportunities to execute critical economic and priority infrastructural projects across the country,” Tinubu said.
Phase 1, Section 2 of the project spans approximately 55.7 kilometres, linking Eleko in Lekki to Ode-Omi, a stretch expected to significantly boost trade efficiency and logistics connectivity along key economic corridors. The latest financing follows the earlier USD 747 million secured for Phase 1, Section 1, reinforcing the project’s scalability and bankability.
The transaction was fully underwritten by First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) and Afreximbank, with partial risk mitigation support from the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC). Officials noted that the deal represents ICIEC’s largest transaction since Nigeria’s recent institutional and regulatory reforms, reflecting growing investor confidence in the country’s reformed investment climate.
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, described the financing as a “defining moment in Nigeria’s infrastructure journey,” assuring that the funds would be deployed responsibly and within agreed timelines.
He noted that the facility—underwritten by FAB with USD 626 million and Afreximbank with USD 500 million, and partially covered by ICIEC—marks the first fully underwritten transaction of such scale for a Nigerian road project.
Edun added that, together with the earlier financing closed in July 2025, the deals firmly establish the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway as a flagship initiative under President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
