Nigeria's ambitious $11 billion coastal highway promises to transform transport and tourism along the Atlantic coast. But as construction advances, environmentalists, fishermen and villagers warn the project could worsen coastal erosion, destroy forests and threaten livelihoods.
Stretching 700 kilometers along Nigeria's coastline, the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is one of President Bola Tinubu's most ambitious infrastructure projects.
The six-lane expressway is designed to connect Lagos, Africa's largest city, to Calabar near the Cameroon border by 2028, with authorities promoting it as a catalyst for economic growth, tourism and regional connectivity.
"This is a road that will outlive all of us," Tinubu said during the inauguration of the first completed section.
Villagers welcome progress but fear displacement
