The federal government Tuesday announced the commencement of operations on the rehabilitated 1443 km Port-Harcourt to Maiduguri narrow gauge rail project.
It added that as part of its intensified drive to facilitate trade, enhance mobility, accessibility and ensure connectivity between the Southern parts of the country to the North-Eastern part, the 1443 km Port-Harcourt to Maiduguri narrow gauge rail project, stretching from Aba has received priority attention.
The Minister of Transportation, Sen. Said Alkali flagged off the commencement of the commercial services on the 62.0 kilometers of the Port-Harcourt to Aba corridor today 30th April 2024.
He said the project was awarded by the ministry to Messrs China Civil Engineering and Construction Company (CCECC) on October 16, 2020, with a completion timeline of 36 months.
Alkali noted that due to several technical and contractual issues, the project rehabilitation commenced in March 2022.
He explained that the scope of the project covers the rehabilitation of the existing narrow gauge railway line, construction of new modern stations, and procurement of new modern rolling stock.
His words: “This railway line will also link the ports of Onne, Bonny, and Port-Harcourt to facilitate evacuation of goods and sundry freight through the Eastern corridor.
“The federal government in the contractual agreement is to provide 15% of Direct Construction Cost inclusive of land acquisition and Value Added Tax (VAT), while a bank loan through Direct Construction Cost is to cover 85% of the project.”
The minister further said that facilitation of the bank loan was in progress and was expected to be concluded soon.
According to him, Thus, the progress achieved on the project from inception in 2020 to the present date has been funded exclusively from the yearly budgetary allocation of the Federal Ministry of Transportation.
Alkali added: “With the completion of the rehabilitation of Port-Harcourt to Aba rail corridor, the Ministry will continue to vigorously drive Messrs CCECC towards the speedy completion and delivery of the 181 kilometres Aba-Enugu stretch.
“Commencement of operations on this stretch of the project aligns with priority 5 of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Presidential Priority Areas which identifies enhanced infrastructure and transportation as enablers of growth” to the economy.”