Nigeria: Rail projects not bait ahead of 2023 elections
The Honourable Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has said that the vigour by which the Federal Government is pushing to connect the country through its radical ongoing rail projects should not be misconstrued as a ploy to sway Nigerians ahead of the 2023 general elections.
The Minister stated this when he recently visited the ongoing construction corridor of the Kano-Kaduna rail project, in Yako Area Council of Kuri Local Government Area, Kano State.
Speaking on the issue of compensation, the Minister said all affected lands belonging to individuals or otherwise have been fully settled. According to him, the first item on the implementation strategy for the 206 km project was provision for complete compensation, daring anyone that has not been fully settled to write to the Ministry.
On the reason for the inspection, Amaechi said: “We are here basically to find out whether Messrs. China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC), has commenced work and how far they have gone because they have a target of completing this at the end of next year (2022) or in the first quarter of the other year (2023)”.
The Minister speaking further informed that the initial project design and cost for the Kano-Kaduna rail project to Federal Executive Council was for the construction of a single track but it directed it should be double track as is the case with Lagos-Ibadan. “Luckily for us, they are doing the formation as double track, so we will just include the track laying to conclude the contract,” Amaechi said.
