Nigeria's $13bn Lagos-Calabar Highway triggers speculative real estate boom
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The ongoing $13 billion Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is reshaping property values along southern Nigeria’s corridor, with land values rising by as much as 133% in two years and investors turning to emerging coastal districts in Ondo, Edo and Delta.
The ongoing construction of the 700-to-750-kilometre Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway is set to fundamentally reshape southern Nigeria’s economic footprint, turning previously virgin land along the Gulf of Guinea into one of West Africa’s most sought-after investment zones.
Real estate investors and practitioners are already positioning themselves along the corridor. Former FIABCI Africa Chapter President Chudi Ubosi described the highway as the next real estate goldmine for Nigeria, noting that land values in the corridor have risen by about 133 per cent over the past two years, with rental markets experiencing an average 25 per cent uptick.
Ubosi said the project would drastically cut transit times between Lagos and Calabar from 12–14 hours to approximately six to seven hours, while also opening opportunities for affordable housing, industrial parks, warehousing hubs and hospitality developments across nine coastal states.
Fame Oyster & Co. CEO Olufemi Oyedele noted that the corridor’s value appreciation is also being driven by nearby industrial projects such as the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, Lekki Free Trade Zone and Lekki Deep Sea Port. He advised early-stage investors to secure legal titles immediately and acquire properties near planned inter-state junctions and expressway interchanges.
Town planners, however, warned that unplanned development along the corridor could repeat the chaotic growth seen in Lekki, urging the government to adopt a cohesive master plan designating specific commercial, industrial, residential and hospitality zones.