Nigeria Secures $1.126bn for Lagos-Calabar Highway

Nigeria has closed $1.126 billion in financing for a section of the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway, the presidency said on Friday.

President Bola Tinubu, in a statement signed by his spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, said the deal would allow work on Phase 1, Section 2 of the project to continue without interruption.

“This is a major achievement, and closing this transaction means the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway will continue unimpeded,” Tinubu said.

He added that his administration would “continue to explore available funding opportunities to execute critical economic and priority infrastructural projects across the country.”

Phase 1, Section 2 of the highway spans about 55.7 kilometres, connecting Eleko in Lekki to Ode-Omi. The project is part of a planned coastal route expected to run across several southern states. The latest financing follows the earlier closing of a $747 million facility for Phase 1, Section 1, according to Onanuga.

Onanuga said the financing was fully underwritten by First Abu Dhabi Bank and Afreximbank, with partial risk mitigation provided by the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit.

“The financing was fully underwritten by First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) and Afreximbank, with partial risk mitigation support provided by the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC), marking ICIEC’s largest transaction since the country’s institutional and regulatory reforms,” Onanuga said.

He added that the structure “reflects growing confidence in Nigeria’s reformed investment climate and its capacity to deliver infrastructure.”

According to the presidential aide, SkyKapital acted as the lead financial adviser, coordinating structuring, lender engagement, and execution of the deal. Environmental and social advisory services were provided by Earth Active (UK), while Hogan Lovells served as international legal counsel and Templars as Nigerian legal counsel.

Finance Minister Wale Edun described the deal as a “defining moment in Nigeria’s infrastructure journey”, saying the funds would be deployed responsibly and judiciously to deliver the project within agreed timelines.

“The signing on December 19, 2025, of USD 1.126 billion financing for Phase one — section two of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal road marks a defining moment in Nigeria’s infrastructure journey,” Edun said, noting that it followed the $747 million financing closed in July.

“Collectively, these landmark transactions firmly establish the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway as one of the defining flagship projects of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda, embodying the administration’s commitment to bold, transformational infrastructure.”