From Idu Jude Abuja
The Federal Government of Nigeria has said that the evolution of rail transport in the country has suffered setbacks owing to irregular policies and discrepancies from the previous administration.
According to a press statement from the ministry, the Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Jaji Sambo, made the remark Tuesday, while being represented by the Permanent Secretary Dr Magdalene Ajani during the railway stakeholders conference in Abuja.
According, before the inception of the present Administration, the full implementation of the railway vision plan has always suffered setbacks due to discrepancies in Government policies, inadequate funding of the rail sector, absence of adequate, capable and experienced Private Investors amongst others,
The minister, further said that it is only President Mohammadu Buhari’s Administration that has taken railway development as one of its cardinal projects to ensure that it actualises its Infrastructure Development Master Plan.
He enumerated the giant strides recorded by this Administration in the railway sector to include the “completed and currently in operation, the 1st and 2nd segments of Lagos – Kano Standard Gauge railways, the ongoing rehabilitation and reconstruction of the existing Eastern narrow gauge Rail line with extension to Bonny Deep Seaport as well as the commenced construction of the double track standard gauge railway from Kaduna – Kano which is the 3rd segment of Lagos – Kano railway project, the commenced construction of the Kano – Maradi ( Niger Republic Standard Gauge railway with a branch line from Kano to Dutsa, amongst others.
Sambo, said, “These milestone projects are the outcomes of the President’s determination to develop, upgrade and modernise Nigerian Transport infrastructure, Sambo pointed out that more can be done with “injection of institutional or private investor’s fund either in form of direct foreign or local investment on PPP basis or through concessionary or commercial loans”.
In his opening remarks, the President, Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dr Al- Mujtaba Abubakar described the Conference as timely, as it will afford all critical stakeholders the opportunity to brainstorm on fast-tracking rail connectivity to meet the demands of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
According to him, the signing of AfCFTA agreement is a landmark development requiring complementary growth and development in the logistics and infrastructure sectors of the Continent. Therefore, harmonising the “development of railway at national and continental level holds the critical key to trade facilitation and human connectivity which are imperative for the success of the AfCFTA.”
The Conference was organised by the Federal Ministry of Transportation in collaboration with the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry and African Railway Consulting Limited and drew participants from Chad, Guinea, Algeria, Tunisia and Niger Republic.