The $3.5 billion super highway and the Bakassi deep seaport projects are hitting strong brick walls as investors and financial institutions have deferred interest.
The 260-km highway is being allegedly threatened by government’s “stop work order and serious concerns raised by local and international environmentalists as well as the British government on the hazards the construction of the superhighway will pose on the country’s remaining rain forest and the people as well as the lack of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).”
Already a German firm has put on hold its €500-million investment on the super highway project to ensure standards.
The state government had allegedly without an approved EIA, deployed caterpillars to sites in Ekuri, Okokori and others, leading to protests from affected communities and environmentalists within and outside the country.
However, the state governor, Ben Ayade, has said, “the multi-billion naira superhighway will not degrade the environment but will rather add value to the environment.”
The governor noted that the projects were important to the socio-economic development of the state and therefore, called for timely federal approval and release of funds for the projects.
