Nigeria, Oct. 13 -- The Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, has dismissed reports that the federal government is abandoning the 750-kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway in favour of the East-West Road, insisting the coastal project remains intact. In contrast, the government plans to reconstruct an additional 400 kilometres of the East-West Road.

Mr Umahi spoke on Monday after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, describing reports that the coastal highway had been abandoned as "mischievous".

He said construction was progressing on several sections of the coastal highway, including stretches in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Ogun, and Ondo states. Meanwhile, surveyors and designers worked on the remaining sect...