By Valentine Amanze, Online Editor
The Federal Government of Nigeria needs to spend $656 million to complete the rehabilitation of the Lagos-Ibadan railway project.
The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi disclosed this, while defending his ministry’s 2021 budget at the Senate.
The Rivers State former governor explained that the amount was needed to put the necessary infrastructure in place for the project to serve its intended purpose.
His words: “Some aspects of works involving the construction of upgraded railway station, signalling and telecommunication systems, power supply scheme and the construction of pedestrian and overpass bridges have to be completed.
“These additional and extra works amounting to $656 million, which is to be financed 100 percent by the Federal Government of Nigeria, has been approved by the Federal Executive Council for implementation.”
The minister further disclosed that the construction of the project was 92 percent close to completion, while lamenting that the work was disrupted following the #EndSARS protests that shook most parts of the country.
Amaechi noted that the Ibadan-Kano railway project also required an injection of $645.3 million as advance payment to enable the Federal Government to complete its loan signing agreement with the China Exim Bank.
According to him, the Ministry would commence the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the Port-Harcourt-Maiduguri Eastern Narrow Gauge railways in 2021.
