Senator Iroegbu
5 November 2009
Abuja — Minister of Transport, Alhaji Ibrahim Isa Bio, yesterdaysaid the proposed rehabilitation of Nigeria Railway Corporation is expected to gulp about N24 billion.
Bio, who disclosed this while signing the contract agreement for rehabilitation of Lagos-Jebba rail line in Abuja, said the Federal Government has injected 12.3billion into the Lagos-Jebba railway project, and assured that the project will be completed in 10 months.
He said the Umaru Musa Yar'Adua administration knows the importance of rail transport as the hub and epicentre of any meaningful transport system, which is in line with the Seven-Point Agenda of President Yar'Adua, "who has demonstrated his commitment to better the railways since the inception of his Administration.
"At this crucial state of the nation's unrelenting quest for an efficient rail transport system in Nigeria, it will be most expedient on all to justify the financial resources that government has put into revamping the nation's narrow gauge rail system of 3,505 kilometres.
"Before now, the rail transport industry had been enmeshed in myriads of constraints that almost erased its existence in Nigeria. This is another landmark success recorded by this administration in bringing to reality, its unflinching quest for a revitalised, repositioned and empowered rail transport system in Nigeria.
"Sometimes in February, I embarked on a facility tour of all the rail tracks, workshops and other important facilities of the Nigerian Railway Corporation, so as to know the position of things in the system. It was revealed that the facilities available in Nigeria were enormous to be left unattended to. The rail transport sub-sector was in complete dilapidation.
"The administration knew the importance of rail transport as the hub and epicentre of any meaningful transport system in any nation. It is against this backdrop that this administration expressed its interest in revamping the nation's existing rail system, while modernisation and standardisation of the rail system is equally pursued.
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