Says it has provided over 7000 employments
The Federal Government today once again reiterated its commitment to deliver the double track standard gauge Lagos Ibadan rail line project by December this year; just as it added that the project has employed over 7000 Nigerians.
The commitment was restated by the Minister of information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Muhammed and his counterpart in the Ministry of Transportation, Rt Hon Rotimi Chinuke Ameichi during a work tour/ inspection of the construction sites of the ongoing multi-billion dollar project in Lagos and Ogun States.
The ministers who expressed satisfaction with the level of progress recorded at the sites said the works are progressing according to plans and that the December date of delivery remains sacrosanct.
Addressing journalists at the Papalanto head office of the construction company handling the project, China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) after the tour and inspection of the projects from Apapa to Itoki in Ogun State, the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi said the barriers that could had hinder the progress and delivery of the project by December 2018 as projected, have been handled up to 60 per cent level.
He however said the only hitch that may likely confront the project is a natural hitch which is rainfall.
Amaechi who stated that rainfall does not affect track laying section of the project however regretted that the civil works may be disturbed a little by the coming torrential downfalls which are usually experience in the summer in South Western axis where the project is ongoing. He was quick to state that the usual August break would be used to bring the gap
“We have reviewed the entire project from Lagos, Apapa seaport to the last station at Ibadan. We are satisfied with the progress. There are hitches here and there which they have found solutions to them, which is about 60 per cent. It means we are progressing. Those are hitches that made us not to carry on with the work in Lagos area. The next one is natural hitch, which has to do with the rain. The track laying is not what can be done during raining season while the remaining civil work can resume for August break. We believe when next we meet the progress would have improved. 60 percent of the solution has been found,” Ameachi said
Speaking on the project, Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed said the visit to the project was part of the efforts to showcase the magnitude of progress the Buhari led All Progressive Congress (APC) administration has achieved in infrastructural development in Nigeria in the last three years; added that one thing the meeting held today with stakeholders is that the commitment to deliver the project by December 2018 was on course and remains none negotiable.
“The idea about this visit is to showcase to Nigerians the amount of work this government has done in the last three years. We are starting with railway and tomorrow would be works, power. We will be inspecting the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. The idea is to let Nigerians know that this administration has done a lot in the area of infrastructure development. In particular people complain that they don’t know government has done so much.
“One thing we achieved in today’s meeting, is that the December date for the Lagos-Ibadan modern gauge is not negotiable. Am happy to say that both consultants, contractors and everybody involved has seen why it is important to make the deadline. Yes there challenges but they are not insurmountable. We sat down today have been able to resolve 60 per cent of the challenges. Which some are administrative and political,” he said.
He further said that one of the major achievements of the flagship programmes of the government is the creation of employment for teeming population of unemployed Nigerians.
“The point is, this is our flagship programme to change and transform the country in a manner you have never witnessed. Already here about 7000 Nigerians have been employed and this camp is just one of the 10. There’s another one in Ibadan,” the minister said.
On the feasibility of completing delivering the project by December 2018, Mohammed said, “For the laying of the track, we can do 1.2 kilometer per day with one machine and we have two machines, which mean we can do 2.4 kilometers a day. It’s about 186 kilometers and December deadline is sacrosanct. We would work towards achieving the project but we all agree that December date is not negotiable.”
On the agreement reached by the Federal Government with General Electric Company (GE), he said: “What GE is coming to do between May and June, before the end of June is to do partial rehabilitation of the rail lines. Currently we are doing about 16 to 18 kilometers per hour, they will rehabilitate the lines so we can at least increase to 40 kilometers per hour and then they will rehabilitate both Lagos and Kano to Funtua, Kaura Namoda, Port Harcourt to Maiduguri to repair another 15 million dollars by GE. GE is a consortium and they have about three to four companies that are doing it. While that is going on, we continue the construction of the standard gauge so that the economic and political pressures we are suffering from different people would be resolved.”
