By Adebola Isimijola, Lagos

The Lagos State Government has approved designated mining locations for Hitech Construction Company to support the ongoing construction of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project.

The disclosure was made by the Lagos State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Biodun Ogunleye, during the ministry’s 2026 Ministerial Press Briefing held in Alausa, where he highlighted the achievements recorded by the ministry within the last year.

According to Ogunleye, the approved mining sites are located within the Ilamija, Kajola, Orimedu and Akodo corridors. He explained that the locations would serve as sources of construction materials required for the execution of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.

The commissioner stated that the approvals were granted to speed up infrastructure delivery and guarantee uninterrupted access to materials for the coastal road project being handled by Hitech Construction Company under an Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Financing (EPC+F) arrangement.

He further disclosed that the ministry currently supervises 20 mineral resource sites across Lagos State, including 13 active and seven inactive sites situated within Ikorodu, Epe/Ibeju-Lekki/Ajah and Badagry corridors.

Ogunleye also revealed that the state government had engaged 141 approved revenue consultants to strengthen monitoring, compliance and operational oversight within the mining sector.

Speaking on environmental management efforts, he said the ministry collaborated with the Lagos Waste Management Authority to deploy specialised corridor sweepers, popularly known as “Highway Doctors,” along the Ajah/Ibeju-Lekki/Epe axis to clear sand spillages associated with mining and construction activities.

Beyond the mining approvals, the commissioner said the ministry was facilitating Right of Way arrangements for the Lekki-Epe Integrated Energy Corridor project. According to him, the initiative includes a 132kV transmission line linking Ajah, Eleko Junction and Alaro City, as well as a parallel gas pipeline aimed at improving industrial power supply within the corridor.

The ministry also announced the deployment of four marine filling stations under the Waterways Energy Solutions programme to provide alternative fuel supply for ferry terminals operated by the Lagos State Waterways Authority.

In the power sector, the ministry disclosed that it approved 14 licences and permits covering off-grid and embedded power generation, independent distribution, metering and mini-grid projects.

Among the approved projects are Axxela’s 5.8 megawatt power facility at Cadbury Nigeria Plc and a 9 megawatt embedded generation project by Isolo Power Gen Limited.

Additional approvals were granted to New Hampshire Capital, GossLink Engineering and Enaro Energy Mini-Grid Limited for metering and mini-grid operations.

The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, one of the Federal Government’s flagship infrastructure projects, is expected to connect Nigeria’s coastal states through a highway network stretching over 750 kilometres.

Construction of the project began in March 2024, while the first section in Lagos was commissioned in May 2025. Nigeria’s Minister of Works, David Umahi, recently confirmed that construction activities are ongoing in Lagos, Cross River and Akwa Ibom states.

Official figures indicate that Section I of the Lagos segment was awarded at N1.068 trillion, while Section II was valued at N1.6 trillion. Sections IIIA and IIIB were jointly procured at N1.33 trillion.

The project has also attracted international financing support, including a $100 million allocation from a $266.7 million facility provided by the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development. An additional $100 million facility was approved in July 2025 for the 47.7-kilometre Lagos portion of the highway.

The total estimated cost of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project is currently put at about N15 trillion.