Ongoing rail projects as 2019 campaign tool

One common recurring decimal in some critical capital projects execution in Nigeria by successive governments both at the federal and state levels is the slowing down strategy with such projects few months or one year to the next major general election so that the incumbent in power they could be voted back to power by the electorates.

Some of the projects currently being executed in the country is the rail projects. At the time of filing this report, the Lagos to Ibadan standard gauge rail project is in progress, the Itakpe-Warri standard gauge rail is on-going, while discussions are on to secure loans for the Lagos-Calabar corridor.

Speaking recently during television programme, Rotimi Amaechi, Nigeria’s minister of transportation said, the government cannot complete all the on-going rail projects under one to the end of its first term in office.

He said that that government is seeking a second term in office is to enable it complete the entire rail projects across the country which are at various stages of work considering the paucity of funds and complexity of work involved.

He said that, the Itapke rail line which goes through Ajaokuta to Warri for instance which is the first standard gauge rail line in Africa abandoned 32 years ago is expected to be completed this year.

He some of the problems being encountered is the case of a contractor that went to court because it bidded for the contract and lost, adding that government is trying to get all the institutions that were involved in awarding that contract to go through all the processes.

Amaechi said government is determined to complete it this year and put wagons and locomotives to operate on the corridor. The corridor is divided into two segments which comprised of the rehabilitation of the 52 kilometer railway line and the second segment (271km) comprised the rehabilitation of some segments of the tracks that are damaged, the building of the stations, access roads, clearing the thick vegetation that had buried the tracks and other works.

In August 2017, the minister of transportation conducted a site inspection of the Itakpe-Warri standard gauge rail project that was hitherto abandoned for more than 30 years directed that the rail line should be completed and put to commercial use by June 2018.

The scope of job done so far carried out by CCECC indicates the contractor has cleared the track of overgrown vegetation, de-sitting of the drainages and has commenced the replacement of damaged rails and sleepers.

Amaechi had earlier argued that rather than allow the rail facilities decay further, it would be beneficial to convert the rail line to commercial rail system that will move both passengers and freight.

When operational, the Itakpe-Warri rail is designed to have 12 stations and 12 access roads. Including cargo shades in some stations, culverts and drainages. When completed, if a train does 80km/hour on the rail line, it can move from Itakpe to Warri in four hours.

Following the commencement of work on the Lagos-Ibadan line, the federal government has also signed contract for the Lagos to Kano project and sent to China to secure the sum of $6.7 billion to carry out the project, even as federal authorities are presently sourcing for loan to execute the Lagos to Calabar corridor, otherwise referred to as the coastal lines which links Lagos through Ore, Benin, with a spur that leads to Agbor, Asaba and Onitsha. It then continues from Benin, it links to Ughelli, Sapele, Warri, Yenegoa, Port Harcourt, Aba, Uyo.

There is another one from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri which connects the old alignment link the city to Aba, Umuahia, Enugu, Makurdi, Lafia, Jos, Bauchi, Gombe and Makurdi. The essence according to the transport minister is in consonance with presidential directive to have rail interconnectivity to all the state capitals.

The project from Lagos to Ibadan is to be completed with a contract sum of $11.17 billion and the one from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri will cost about $16 billion. The reason for seeking for second is to enable us complete the project.

MIKE OCHONMA