The government of Nigeria this week said it is planning to build a 1,000km highway between the coastal town of Badagry and the city of Sokoto in the northwest.

According to the Arise News website, David Umahi, the minister of works, said he had been ordered by President Bola Tinubu to start design work on the project.

“We’ve started the design, and I’m very sure that as soon as the Federal Executive Council approves it, we will be starting at Sokoto side, which is going to be the zero point,” he said.

He spoke while inspecting the site of another major road project, the 700km highway between Lagos and Calabar, near Nigeria’s southeastern border with Cameroon.

That scheme, announced last month, is expected to cost in the region of $2bn.

No cost estimate has been given for the Badagry-Sokoto route.