A new road project is proposed that will improve transport in South East Nigeria. The 23km road will boost the transport links between Akwa Ibom State and Cross River State, the latter of which borders with Nigeria’s neighbouring nation, Cameroon. The new link is expected to cost US$1.07 billion, speeding transport between Akwa Ibom State and Cross River State.
At present, the main road link between the two is the somewhat circuitous route passing through Ayadeghe and Inwa Akpa, connecting with the A4 Murtala Mohammed Highway that runs towards Calabar in the south of Cross River State. Transport between Calabar and the nearby town of Oron in Akwa Ibom state relies heavily on water traffic at present.
Funding to help pay for the project is being sought from China’s Exim Bank in the shape of a loan worth $800 million. The project will face a number of technical challenges due to the terrain.
Construction of the new road is expected to take two to three years to complete. The work will make a major contribution to the economic development of South East Nigeria. Although much of the country’s economic wealth derives from the oil industry in South East Nigeria, the transport infrastructure in the region has suffered from a lack of investment reaching back over many decades.
