Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road: Landmark Beach Calls for Reroute To Protect Over 12,000 Jobs
Landmark Beach, one of Nigeria’s major tourist destinations located in the economic hub of Lagos, has asked the Nigerian government to reconsider the planned route of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road and revert to the original plan.
The current plan, according to Landmark, would see the road constructed directly through the beach, jeopardising thousands of jobs and the economic viability of the entire Landmark ecosystem.
Recall that last month, the Nigerian government, under the administration of President Bola Tinubu, began work on a 700-kilometre highway stretching from Lagos to Calabar, crossing nine coastal states. However, this infrastructure project, which the government says will “unlock economic opportunities,” will pass through Landmark Beach and will affect more than 80 businesses providing over 12,000 jobs if the alignment is not changed.
“Of the 80+ businesses that make up the Landmark Ecosystem, over half of them are situated on the Landmark Beach directly in the right of way of the coastal road,” Elsie Ogianyo, the Brand and Corporate Communications head at Landmark Africa said in a Statement on Wednesday, Thursday April 18, 2024.
While the firm said it has invested N25 billion to create and maintain the enabling environment, it claimed that “all of these businesses will undoubtedly be affected if the alignment is not changed.”
“We must always remember that these employees (mostly youths) support the hopes and aspirations of their families and dependents amidst a cost-of-living crisis. We strongly believe that this decision is being given the grave and due consideration it truly deserves given the wide-ranging and enormously negative consequences that would result from the demolition of the beach,” the statement reads in part.
However, on April 11, Nigerian Minister of works, David Umahi, during an interview with Arise TV, claimed that only a few shanties of Landmark structures will be affected.
“What could be lost is the shoreline and the people that go to play at the shoreline, but the facilities are all intact because we reduced the corridor to 15 meters and we saw that there are no permanent structures other than a few shanties along that shoreline that are affected.”
Landmark noted that the coastal road, which will cost the Federal government over N15 Trillion, can be carried out without obstructing the business ecosystem in Landmark if the original 1.5km coastal road route which passes through the Water Corporation Road median is maintained.
“This original alignment remains unused, undeveloped and available till date for the development of the coastal highway and we feel that rerouting back to this original alignment is one of the several, credible win-win solutions that exist that will also avoid disruption to the beach.”
