For nearly 70 years, Bonny Island remained one of Nigeria’s most economically strategic yet physically isolated communities, accessible only by water or air despite its immense contribution to the nation’s oil and gas industry. Today, that long-standing isolation has finally come to an end with the completion of the Bodo-Bonny Road, a landmark project delivered through a partnership between the Federal Government and Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG). From decades of unfulfilled promises to the engineering feat that made it possible, Blessing Ibunge writes that the road is transforming mobility, trade, investment and livelihoods, while reconnecting Bonny to the Nigerian mainland
For decades, Bonny Island occupied a unique position in Nigeria’s economic history. Despite serving as one of the country’s most strategic oil and gas hubs and contributing enormously to national revenue, the island remained physically isolated from the mainland.
Access to Bonny, home to Nigeria LNG (NLNG), the Bonny Oil Terminal and several other critical energy assets, was restricted to waterways and, for a privileged few, air travel and for generations of Bonny residents, a road connection to the mainland remained an elusive dream.
