Nigeria is planning to build the first underwater tunnel of Africa in Lagos that will be running under the Lagos Lagoon. The tunnel is expected to connect Ahmadu Bello Way of Victoria Island to Snake Island.
The tunnel will further extend towards Badagry by linking the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway with the Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway. The 2.9 kms tunnel is expected to reduce traffic and improve the transport facilities. The project will use a Public-Private Partnership.
Minister of Works – David Umahi announced about this project during an inspection tour of key infrastructure sites in Lagos on Wednesday. The project is expected to be delivered under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) framework.
Umahi explained that land resources around Snake Island and Badagry will be leveraged to finance the development through a Build-Operate-Transfer model. He further stated that they have land at Snake Island and by Badagry. They hope to use this land under PPP to fund the project under Build, Operate and Transfer initiative.
The Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway is a 1,068 kms, six-lane road designed to connect northwestern region of Nigeria with the southern coast, thereby enhancing trade, security, and economic growth.
It is initiated by the Renewed Hope Administration under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the project was formally launched in October 2024, though its planning dates back over 40 years.
The project includes various sections, with President Tinubu approving 30% of the contract sum in funding the commencement of the highway’s construction in March 2025.
On the other hand, the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is a 700 kms project under development (as of 2025) by the Federal Ministry of Works. It runs from Victoria Island in Lagos to Calabar in Cross River State.
The project will pass through Ogun State, Ondo State, Edo State, Delta State, Bayelsa State, Rivers State, and Akwa Ibom State, before ending in Calabar.
The project is intended to connect the western and south-eastern regions of Nigeria, and to improve cross-country connectivity and trade relations. The construction of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway began in March 2024 with the first phase, which stretches 47.47 kms from Lagos. The highway is expected to be completed in eight years and will cost N4 billion per kilometer.
While the total cost for the 1,068 kms Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway is approximately ₦13 trillion, or over $7.9 billion, that of the 700 kms Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is estimated at N15 trillion (around $11–13 billion).
The first underwater tunnel in the world is the Thames Tunnel in London, built between 1825 and 1843 by Marc Isambard Brunel, and connected Rotherhithe and Wapping under the River Thames. The tunnel which was a groundbreaking feat of engineering that employed a novel tunnelling shield method famously became a popular tourist attraction before being converted for railway use.