BEVERLY HILLS, March 07, (THEWILL) – Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, on Tuesday, performed the grand breaking ceremony of the Lagos-Ibadan standard guage railway line declaring that the rail line would be ready for use by December 2018.
Speaking at the ceremony in Lagos, Osinbajo stated that the national rail project will create half-a-million jobs adding that the project is one very close to the heart of President Muhammadu Buhari, who renegotiated the project with the Chinese in 2016.
“If there is a project close to the heart of the president, it is this rail project he personally promised the people of this nation,” Osinbajo said.
“Our appreciation goes to the Chinese government, who have always proven to be reliable partners with Nigeria. As some may be aware, we have the entire Lagos-Kano standard guage track, as well as the Lagos-Calabar railway track in the 2017 budget.
“Negotiations of the Kaduna-Kano portion of the track is now completed and this phase is next in line. We have already provided our portion of funding for the Lagos-Calabar route as well.
“We expect that negotiations for the foreign component of the funding will be finalised in the next few months. The Lagos-Calabar rail will come on stream.
“An active and vibrant railway system confers many benefits on society, and our ultimate goal is to restore the railway using culture for both commercial and personal travels.
“The national railway project will create up to half a million jobs, and facilitate the movement of over 3.2 tonnes of cargo per annum.”
Osinbajo appreciated the efforts of Kemi Adeosun, minister of finance, and Rotimi Amaechi, minister of transportation for their hardwork, which made the project possible.
Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, at the event, noted that one of the direct benefits of the railway modernization is that containers and goods from the Apapa Port will now be transported by rail.
“This will reduce the number of trailers and other heavy duty vehicles on our roads & the productive hours wasted,” he said.
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