As bulldozers continue to blaze through the bushy terrain of Nigeria’s coastal belt, carving out the ambitious 700-kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the conversation has predominantly revolved around engineering feats, environmental concerns, and politics.
However, lying silently beneath the cacophony is a wealth of untapped business opportunities that the South-South communities may soon be poised to harness, if they are strategically prepared.
This highway, envisioned to run through Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and terminate in Cross River, is more than just a road.
It is a spine that connects Nigeria’s economic jugular to some of its most resource-rich, but commercially underdeveloped regions.
The South-South region, long defined by oil wealth and underdevelopment, has a new card to play: location.
With the Coastal Highway bringing direct connectivity to Lagos, the commercial nerve centre of West Africa, towns and communities along the route are no longer isolated endpoints, they are budding corridors of commerce.
Dr. Ufot Ekong, an economist and development strategist based in Uyo, believes the highway will “redefine market access and transport dynamics across Nigeria’s southern coast.”
“We’re looking at the potential birth of coastal economic zones. What the Lekki-Epe axis became after road expansion is child’s play compared to what places like Eket, Oron, and Brass can become. Once you connect these communities to Lagos with a smooth, motorable road, you’ve effectively de-risked investments in logistics, tourism, manufacturing, and agriculture,” he says.
Much of the South-South is fertile land that has been trapped behind bad roads, poor storage infrastructure, and lack of access to major markets.
From the cassava fields of Cross River to the oil palm plantations in Rivers State, farmers have been at the mercy of middlemen due to lack of road access.
With the Lagos-Calabar route slicing through this terrain, the cost of moving perishable produce to markets in Lagos will significantly drop, potentially spurring investment in agro-processing plants, storage hubs, and logistics parks.
Okiemute Ejenavi, an agricultural extension officer in Delta State, says: “What we’ve had all along is a broken value chain. The coastal highway is a chance to fix that. For instance, plantation in Bomadi can now supply bananas to processing facilities in Lagos in 12 hours or less.
“Investors in food processing will find it cheaper to build closer to the source of produce now.”
With a view that rivals some of the best in East Africa and a coastline that stretches for hundreds of kilometres, the South-South could become Nigeria’s next tourism frontier. Towns like Ibeno, with its long, white-sand beaches, or the mangrove-fringed areas of Brass and Nembe, have long been beautiful but inaccessible. That story is about to change.
Already, whispers are growing among industry stakeholders.
Speaking with Daily Independent, Mrs. Yetunde Ogungbemi, CEO of Lagoon View Resorts and a member of the Nigerian Tourism Investors Forum (NTIF), said:“Once this highway is fully functional, we will see a rush to build mid-range hotels, beach resorts, and tourism clusters. It’s not just about international tourists, it’s about opening up weekend getaway destinations for Lagosians and domestic tourists. Expect a real estate boom along these untouched coastal towns.”
Nigeria’s failure to harness its inland waterways has meant that thousands of tonnes of goods travel by road, leading to clogged highways and high transport costs. With the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway running parallel to the Atlantic, marine logistics hubs can be strategically positioned along key junctions of the road.
“Think of cargo being offloaded in Lagos or Onne and transshipped via short-sea vessels to mini-ports or inland container depots near Oron, Eket, or Yenagoa. Then the Coastal Highway can serve as the last-mile delivery route,” says Captain Bassey Okon, a maritime consultant based in Port Harcourt.
“For coastal states that are already talking about export processing zones, this is the time to start laying groundwork, roads, jetty upgrades, and bonded warehouses”, he added
It may not be the first thing that comes to mind, but the South-South is culturally rich and boasts unique crafts, fashion, and performance arts. The highway could spark new festivals, pop-up markets, and artistic showcases as people can now easily travel to experience local culture.
“With better road access, you’ll see tourism-linked businesses like film locations, cultural carnivals, and even culinary tours springing up. Local creatives need to be ready,” says Nkoyo Etuk, an art curator based in Calabar.
Opportunities, however, do not automatically translate to prosperity. Without preparation, communities may find themselves spectators in their own backyards.
Dr. Fred Okuijen, a community development enthusiast, sounds the alarm: “If the federal and state governments do not aggressively invest in human capital, vocational training, and SME development now, then outsiders will take over these emerging markets. The people in these communities must be trained and supported to own the businesses, not just supply sand and labour.”
She calls for targeted intervention by NDDC, Ministry of Trade and Investment, and state governors.
“We can’t be building roads without building minds. Business incubation hubs, micro-credit schemes, and even cooperatives need to be fostered before the gold rush begins,” she adds.
Still, not all that glitters is gold. Critics of the project, especially in Lagos where demolitions have displaced residents, warn that the project risks creating economic corridors for the elite while leaving the poor behind.
Environmentalists are also concerned about the destruction of mangroves, the risk of coastal erosion, and possible habitat destruction for endangered species.
“There must be environmental and social safeguards. Development must not mean displacement,” says Nnimmo Bassey, director of Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF).
“We must protect our communities from becoming mere throughways for commercial trucks.”
At this juncture, it is expedient to ask, “What Governments Must Do?”
To answer the foregoing question, Marcus Onyewe said, “To avoid a missed opportunity, critical actions must be taken”.
According to him, “State governments should quickly conduct business climate assessments and identify clusters where investment promotion is needed and Local governments must register and support cooperatives that can grow into larger enterprises.
He added, “The Federal Government must ensure equity in land access so that local entrepreneurs are not priced out by land speculators and relevant agencies must build feeder roads to ensure that communities 5–10km off the highway aren’t cut off from the benefits.”
Mr. Gideon Chukwuyem, a transporter said, “The Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway may go down in history as one of Nigeria’s most transformative infrastructure projects, not because of its size or politics, but because of the quiet revolution it could spark in the South-South region”.
As Chukwuyem also puts it, “For too long, South-South communities have watched the wealth of their land slip away via crude oil pipelines. Now, a different kind of pipeline is being built, one of opportunity. But only those who prepare will harvest its dividends.
“The race has started. Whether the people of the South-South will cross the finish line as winners or bystanders depends on how quickly they wake up to smell the economic coffee brewing along the coast”.
Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Syndigate.info
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