Umahi spoke in Lagos on Monday during an inspection of the
highway project.

“We also encountered a refuse dump that had been over 50
years old and had over 10 metres depth and spanned two kilometres,” he said.

“When we encountered it, we had to stop the work for more
than four months.”

The minister said the project initially faced some
challenges starting from kilometre zero, where the Landmark Beach
infrastructure and several other properties were encountered.

He said the ministry decided to alter the highway’s design,
moving away from the original coastal alignment so as to preserve the
structures.

“We decided as a responsible ministry to vary the design of
the project,” Umahi said.

“The implication is that we left the coast and came to a new
alignment that was not designed for the project.”

He said contrary to circulating reports, the Landmark Beach
on Lagos Island was not demolished, noting that only the shanties surrounding
the main structure were removed.

The minister added that the highway’s six lanes were split
into three lanes on either side to save the beach infrastructure.

Addressing the financial implication of the challenges
encountered, Umahi said that the federal government spent N15 billion to manage
the issue.

“I have directed that all the videos and drawings must be
exposed because additional works are involved, and I want those documentaries
to be intact,” he added.

Dany Abboud, managing director of Hitech Construction
Company Ltd., the firm handling the project, explained that the highway was
split at kilometre 2.7 to avoid demolishing Landmark Beach and other
properties.

Abboud said the eastbound and westbound lanes merged again
at kilometre 5.

Abboud also said the company encountered significant waste
deposits between kilometres 3 and 9, with the largest dumpsites at kilometres 4
and 9.

“We had to excavate to a very big depth and replace it with
sand,” he said.