By our reporter|The federal government on Friday said work will commence the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Port-Harcourt-Maiduguri eastern narrow gauge railway next year.
Nigeria’s minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, disclosed when he appeared before the National Assembly joint committees on transportation to defend his ministry’s budget.
He also listed the construction of Itakpe-Abuja-Warri central railway and the 378km single track standard gauge rail line traversing Kano-Katsina-Jibiya to a border town of Maradi in Niger Republic as part of the government’s priority projects for 2021.
According to him, the projects, already approved by Bureau of Public Procurement and Federal Executive Council, were part of priority of the federal government to achieve intermodal transportation to enhance economic growth.
In the ministry’s total capital expenditure of N205 billion, Amaechi said land transport will get N204 billion and Marine, N845 million.
He said the proposal was to make significant progress on all ongoing projects and to complete and deliver modern railway services for the country.
Amaechi said the construction of Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge line had reached 92 per cent project completion.
He, however, said extra works amounting to 656 million dollars were needed to be done for the project to attain practical completion.
“Therefore, in order not to forestall the progress of implementation, adequate fund needs to be provided in the 2021 budget proposal to facilitate the completion of the project,” he added.
In his remarks, Hon. Tajudeen Abass, Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Land Transport, requested additional time to consider the budget proposal for the Ministry owing to the delay in the submission of the document.
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