De-Sadel Consortium has assured Nigerians that the proposed introduction of the high-speed rail project in the country would bring meaningful transformations to the various facets of the country in future.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Consortium, Mr Samuel Uko, gave the assurance while speaking with journalists at the closing ceremony of the just concluded 2nd International Railway Conference, held in Abuja.
Uko, who stressed that the project goes beyond building a modern rail line in the country, pointed out that the vision is a cornerstone of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
“The high-speed rail is not just coming with trains. It is coming with industrial cities and opportunities for the young generation. It’s a futuristic project designed for the future of Nigeria,” he explained.
Noting that the project was structured as a Public-Private Partnership (PPP), he stated that it would cover 1,600 kilometres across 20 states, linking four major cities: Lagos, Abuja, Kano, and Port Harcourt.
He explained that the speed rail would serve both middle and lower-class travellers, making travel across the country more accessible and efficient.
According to De Sadel’s boss, the firm has secured $60 billion investment for the first phase, out of a total sum of $200bn, which is the entire sum of investment needed to prosecute the entire project.
Uko also informed that the first phase of the project was expected to be completed within 36 months, noting that “high-speed rail runs either through tunnels or bridges. In our case, everything will be new, constructed on bridges. This makes it both faster and easier to build.”
The CEO expressed optimism on the economic potential of the project, saying, “Initially, our projection was a 20-year investment plan. Right now, it’s less than 10 years. If just 5% of Nigerians make 10 trips a year at $100 per ticket, the project will pay back under a decade.”
Uko noted that Nigerians were about to witness a new Nigeria through the philosophy of the renewed Hope Agenda of the President Tinubu-led administration, saying, “Mr President brought this sudden freight that gave birth to a new Nigeria.
On the capacity of the Consortium in making the project a reality, it stated that it has the requisite professional and technical competence to deliver.
He said: “In De-Sadel Consortium, we have a lot of expertise. In our company, we have lots of great men. Those are the capacities we have, and it is not a government project; it is a public-private partnership (PPP) project.
“Just like Aliko Dangote said that he was going to build a refinery, then people said that it wasn’t possible, but today a new refinery is in this country, built by one man, and that gave us encouragement that everything is possible.
“And I can tell you that Nigerians are very intelligent people, and they want the best. So we are going to give this country one of the best that the country will be proud of what the President promised.”
