There are indications that Nigeria’s quest for an improved economy is not mere utopian fantasy, going by the tempo of developmental activities taking place across the country, especially in Rivers State, where the governor, H.E. Sir Siminalayi Fubara GSSRS recently undertook the challenge to construct the legendary Trans-Kalabari highway.
You may have known that the 26.099 Trans-Kalabari super highway project will link several Island communities such as Krakrama, Omekwe-ama, Angulama, Omekwe Tari-Ama, Sangama, Mina-Ama and Minima to the mainland of Port Harcourt, what you may not have known, however, is that this highway will provide an economically viable alternative to marine transportation and further stimulate economic development in and around these areas by easing the movement of goods, services, and persons.
The pertinence of a highway that will bridge decades-long economic gap between the litorial communities of Kalabari and the Port Harcourt metropolis including its urban agglomeration has been a major talking point in the Rivers State political calibration since 1999. However, the plan to bring it to reality was finally conceived a few years ago and is now being fully realised by the Fubara-led administration.
The driving force behind the conception of such a significant project include; creating an alternative special economic zone within the Kalabari area that meets global standards; creating employment opportunities, wealth and boosting innovative services towards sustainable industrial and socio-economic development in the same area. The project also seeks to provide local and foreign investors with the best business environment to operate, facilitate transfer of technology, fast-track industrialization and to provide a platform for utilization of the abundant resources (raw materials, human capital, etc) therefrom.
According to data from government sources, the original project consists of the construction of 5 Bridges to link Tombia with Eagle Island area over the Delta of the Bonny River but due to navigation of large oil tankers and considering the commencement of the Port Harcourt Ring Road project (another ongoing giant stride of the current administration with a bridge that will connect Eagle Island to Rumuolumeni), the Trans-Kalabari highway had to be relocated to begin from Rumuolumeni to Tombia.
This phase of the highway is the most challenging as it involves the construction of an approximately 9 Km-long 2 lanes road featuring two crossings over bodies of water with required navigational clearance that mandates the use of balanced cantilevers bridge method for the two crossing; one of 350 meter length and another of 450 meter length, Including one round about at each end of the project. The embankment work will be done on swamp areas, necessiting stabilization and consolidation methods such as prefabricated Vertical Drain, Geosynthetic Encased Sand or Stone Columns and/ or Geosynthetic Basal Reinforcement.
The bridges works include installation in water of 30 meter, 1200 mm piles, construction of pile caps, piers, pier caps, execution of the balanced cantilever on bearings length between 40 and 88 meters between piers, installation of New Jersey barriers, all drainage work and the installation of expansion joints, with curb stone and sidewalks. Going by the description above, this project is not only challenging given the terrains it covers, but it is also one of its kind in the entire country.
Indeed, for the Trans-Kalabari Project to make sense, it must no longer be thought of as a transport project but as a robust national and regional economic development plan. This is because, in reality, the highway would, in the short and long term, attract significant social and economic development to Rivers State, especially in those resourceful Island communities that would be linked by road for the first time since their existence – a bit like the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway.
At the cost of 222.1 billion naira, the reason successive administrations avoided this phase of the highway is not far-fetched. Some analysts also question the rationale behind spending such a huge amount on just a few kilometres of road when, in their opinion, the people are doing okay with the alternative marine transportation system that has been in place for decades. For mere political convenience, this argument seems compelling, but it does not hold up to more thorough scrutiny based on factual economic indices.
Consider this:
The Trans-Kalabari Road, when seen in the context of corridor development with concomitant cluster development, promises to create new towns and industries along its route, thereby guaranteeing a vigorous decongestion of Port Harcourt and transmitting development impulses to the the affected towns and villages. Particularly, land use will change and also increase in value, and there will be enhanced access to the two strategic minerals (crude oil and gas). In addition, there would be an improvement in the ability of governments at all levels to provide security of lives and property within these areas, which hitherto are nealy impossible to police. This will boost investors’ confidence and accelerate economic development.
The natural resource potentials of Rivers State Island communities include wide-ranging agricultural and industrial mineral products, from which raw materials can be sourced for the establishment of low, medium, and large-scale industries. Agricultural raw materials for agro allied industries include rubber, oil palm, palm kernel, cassava, vegetables, rubber, timber, rope, etc. Raw materials for medium – to large-scale industries include petrochemicals such as carbon black and polypropylene, petroleum, natural gas, bitumen, and a host of others.
Considered from a food safety perspective, the Trans-Kalabari Highway project also stands out as a sterling necessity. Food security in Nigeria is more threatened now than ever. It is even worse in Rivers State and other states around the Delta. With regards to fishing, interestingly, the six litorial Kalabari communities that will be linked by road through the construction of this super highway have the potential to produce nearly half of the fish needs in Rivers State. However, studies have shown that certain socio-economic factors prevalent in these areas constitute reasonable impediments to fish production in the affected communities and distribution to urban areas: Insecurity and lack of good road networks are prominent among these factors. This project will address both.
The Trans-Kalabari highway project is without doubts and indeed a planning gain for Rivers State and, by extension, the entire country. The ability to consider this project and the courage to take up the challenge to implement the same eloquently speaks of Governor Fubara as not just a visionary leader but also as a champion of economic development at the grassroots.
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King Wenenda Onukwuru