This new Abuja highway is giving Nigerians a taste of the US and Dubai and is becoming a tourist hotspot

• Abuja's Apo-Karshi Road is attracting attention for its scenic, US- and Dubai-inspired appearance.

• The 13.5km project, delayed for over a decade, was completed under FCT Minister Nyesom Wike.

• Its growing popularity as a photoshoot destination highlights Nigeria's shortage of developed tourist and recreational spaces.

With its smooth black asphalt, clearly marked lanes, sweeping bends and towering rock faces, this Abuja's Apo-Karshi Road, which currently has Nigerians in awe, looks like a cinematic backdrop pulled straight from a Fast & Furious movie. 

It’s the kind of scenic highway we all admire in the United States and Dubai, and people are already turning it into an unlikely tourist destination.

The road, which cuts through massive rocky formations and stretches of green landscape, has become a popular backdrop for photographs and videos, with visitors stopping to admire its appearance and capture pictures.

The road offers fashion models, photographers and content creators an attractive outdoor studio and an opportunity for car dealers and automobile brands to showcase vehicles for promotional pictures and videos.

Imagine a luxury SUV parked against the rocky formations; it would hardly look out of place in an international automobile campaign. The road's appearance could also make it attractive for fashion campaigns, music videos and other commercial productions.

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However, the approximately 13.5-kilometre Apo-Karshi Road that Nigerians admire today has a history of delays spanning more than a decade. 

The road was a ₦6.4 billion contract, with an initial completion period of 20 months, originally awarded in 2011 to Kakatar Engineering Limited under former FCT Minister Bala Mohammed.

When Nyesom Wike became FCT Minister, he made the delayed project one of the infrastructure issues his administration pursued. In November 2025, the FCT Administration terminated Kakatar's contract and re-awarded the project to SCC Nigeria Limited under an emergency procurement arrangement.

Now that the road has finally been completed, it has been generating massive buzz online and offline, but one could attribute this excitement surrounding the Apo-Karshi Road to the limited availability of accessible, well-maintained recreational and tourist spaces across Nigerian cities. 

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When a road becomes one of the most exciting places to take pictures, it suggests there is room for more deliberately developed public spaces where people can explore, relax and enjoy their surroundings.

The United States has scenic road-trip destinations where the journey itself is part of the attraction. Dubai, meanwhile, has invested in visually striking infrastructure, recreational spaces and tourist experiences that attract visitors looking for memorable locations.

Abuja's new road was built primarily to improve transportation and connect communities, not as a dedicated tourist destination. Yet its natural surroundings and striking construction have given it an appeal that goes beyond its original purpose.

According to the Independent Newspaper's report, Wike directed the relevant tourism department to develop proposals for amenities that could support the road's emerging status as a tourist destination — which is a good starting point. 

This does not mean Nigeria lacks tourist attractions. The country has waterfalls, beaches, mountains, historical sites and natural landscapes. The bigger challenge is developing, maintaining, promoting and making many of these places accessible to the public.

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While the Apo-Karshi route is currently enjoying its viral moment, it joins a small but prestigious list of cinematic Nigerian highways. 

Its visual appeal echoes the famous 11-kilometre winding mountain road leading to the Obudu Mountain Resort in Cross River State, renowned for its 22 dramatic U-turns and mist-covered peaks. 

In all, the Apo-Karshi Road has unexpectedly joined the list of places worth visiting. Its popularity could also create opportunities for photographers, automobile businesses, fashion brands and other small businesses.