The Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, on Thursday
updated President Muhammadu Buhari on the proposed and ongoing railway
projects across the country including the Kano – Maradi (Niger Republic)
rail project....
Addressing State House correspondents after a closed-door meeting
with President Buhari in the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the minister
said the president was pleased with developments in the transport
sector.
According to him, President Buhari “sleeps and wakes up’’ thinking
about the railway system, adding that the president has made concerted
effort to fix the railways, to ease transportation of persons and goods
across the country.
“The President sleeps and wakes up thinking about our railways;
therefore I must always see him and tell him how far we have gone. Once
he hears the progress that is being made, he feels happy.
“He is also very pleased with what we have done in terms of the
narrow gauge; between now and December we should ensure efficiency in
the narrow gauge; we are bringing in more locomotives; we are bringing
in more coaches and wagons, to ensure efficiency in the narrow gauge. `
“In terms of the narrow gauge, if not for a hitch, we would
have commenced trucking cargo form Apapa seaport to Ebute-Metta-Lagos
and take away the challenges we are having with that Apapa grid and bad
road. That will happen before December.’’
The minister announced that the Federal Government would take
delivery of 17 new coaches and locomotives between now and December to
boost rail transportation across the country.
He stated that 10 of the locomotive were meant for Abuja- Kaduna
rail line while the remaining seven would go to Itakpe – Warri rail
project, which he said would be ready by June 2018.
“We are expecting 10 for Kaduna-Abuja axis and another seven,
which will hopefully go to Itakpe – Warri because we believe that by
June, that axis should also come alive,’’ he said.
Amaechi further revealed that about $16bn was needed to actualise
some of the Federal Government’s plans for the railway sector,
especially the construction of two deep seaports in Bonny, Rivers State
and Warri, Delta State; as well as the Port Harcourt Railway Industrial
Park.
The Minister disclosed that there were plans to also dredge the Calabar seaport, through Public Private Partnership
He expressed the hope that the problem of gridlock on the road leading to Apapa port in Lagos would be over by December.
No comments: