The Federal Government has set December this year for the completion of major rail lines across the country. Director of Rail Transport Services, in the Federal Ministry of Transportation, Engr Finbarr Zirra, at a pre-media tour briefing of journalists in Abuja yesterday, said most rail tracks have attained over 60 per cent completion.
He listed the rail lines to include Kaduna-Kano and Kano-Maradi, pointing out that the major work is the earthwork formation. “Once we are able to establish that line, the other ones are automated,” Zirra stated.
The director described rail transport as capital intensive, adding: “That’s why when you do it, it lasts 100 years because of what is being put into it to make sure that it is properly done and sustainable.”
Zirra disclosed that over $2 billion has been invested on the Kano-Maradi railway project, which he said is a standard gauge. He stated that Kano State, North West is central to President Bola Tinubu’s government because: “Kano is a commercial city. “The train, when it comes, there will be safety and movement; when it comes, it will affect even the cost of materials.
It has multiple effects. “The indirect effects from the train line are so enormous that by the time we start coming, we will feel the impact in other sectors,” he remarked. Zirra disclosed that the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) has been engaging some investors who want to partner with the Federal Government to develop the nation’s rail transport.
Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, explained that the planned media tour was to showcase what the administration had achieved in the past three years.
“As people have said, if you don’t blow your trumpet by yourself, nobody will blow for you,” Onanuga stated. He added that many state governments have executed a lot of capital projects since 2023 because they are getting more funds from the centre.
Director (Media) of Renew Hope Ambassadors, Tunde Rahman, said the tour, which he stated is being put in place by the Tinubu administration in the North West, is to disprove the claim that Tinubu has not kept his promise to the North. “This is not correct; you will see for yourselves the projects the reforms put in place by Mr President in the North; in the area of works, road network, health facilities, the transportation and rail system,” he pointed out.
