Deutsche Bank has signalled strong interest in financing major rehabilitation and replacement works on the Carter Bridge and the 3rd Mainland Bridge rehabilitation.
A delegation from the bank, led by its Managing Director and Global Co-Head of Structured Trade and Export Finance, Moritz Dornemann, and its Chief Country Representative in Nigeria, Andreas Voss, met with the Minister of Works, David Umahi, in Abuja on Tuesday. The visit, according to the minister’s media aide, Orji Uchenna, forms part of ongoing government engagements to deepen partnerships with global financiers interested in strategic national infrastructure.
During the meeting, the Deutsche Bank team praised the Federal Government’s commitment to upgrading ageing transport infrastructure and conveyed its intention to participate in the replacement of the Carter Bridge, one of Lagos’ oldest bridges, as well as the comprehensive rehabilitation of the underwater elements of the 3rd Mainland Bridge, Africa’s second-longest bridge.
The delegation also reaffirmed its interest in further financing the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, applauding the “quality of work” being executed by Hitech Construction Ltd. They said the progress recorded on the coastal highway has strengthened their appetite to fund subsequent phases.
Responding, Umahi commended the lender’s growing confidence in Nigeria’s infrastructure drive and revealed that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project had been oversubscribed by more than $100 million. He added that Deutsche Bank had shown interest in reassessing the project cost, which financiers consider undervalued.
Current State of Both Bridges
Umahi disclosed that the Carter Bridge has deteriorated to a point where full replacement is the only viable long-term option, despite ongoing remedial efforts to preserve its structural stability. He also confirmed that engineering assessments show the 3rd Mainland Bridge has developed significant underwater structural defects, necessitating a full restoration to extend its lifespan for another half-century.
“There would be a comprehensive repair of the underwater elements to retain its sustainability for another 50 years,” the minister said, assuring the bank that procurement processes for both projects remain transparent and competitive.
The engagement marks another step in the Federal Government’s push to close widening infrastructure funding gaps, particularly in Lagos, where decades of wear, saltwater exposure and soaring vehicular pressure have battered key bridges.
Completed in 1990 under the Ibrahim Babangida administration, the 3rd Mainland Bridge has undergone multiple rounds of repairs since 2012 targeting expansion joints, bearings and deck resurfacing. Despite interventions in 2020–2021 and follow-up works up to 2024, engineers have consistently raised concerns about the condition of the submerged piles.
The Carter Bridge, originally constructed in 1901 and rebuilt in the 1970s, has likewise suffered from advanced structural fatigue, corrosion and overstressed steel components prompting its prioritisation for full replacement.
The Federal Government says it will keep Deutsche Bank informed as the procurement process progresses and successful contractors emerge.
