From Idu Jude, Abuja
The Federal Government has assured investors on promising returns on investment and guaranteed secure environment on partnership with the transportation sector in Nigeria.
The Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Jaji Sambo, made this known during his presentation, titled “Financing Nigerian’s Transport Infrastructure” at the Nigerian International Economic Partnership Forum, held in New York recently.
The minister, said that the Nigerian business environment is conducive with an unbroken record of 24 years of democracy, coupled with an executive order for making businesses easy and a fair legal system where investor’s rights are protected.
Sambo, said, “The role of transportation infrastructure in Nigeria is aimed at reviving the economy, transforming it and placing it on a more sustainable and inclusive growth strategy, these include inter-modal transport infrastructure connectivity, roads, railways and waterways, each contributing to the functioning of the Nigerian economy.”
Speaking further, he said the rail sub- sector has recorded notable achievements, the commissioning and making operational for commercial activities, the Abuja- Kaduna; Warri- Itakpe – Ajaokuta and Lagos – Ibadan double track standard gauge rail lines, ground breaking of wagon Assembly in Kajola, Ogun State, Port – Harcourt – Maiduguri, Kano – Maradi (Niger Republic) and Kano – Kaduna Standard gauge rail lines, connection of the Apapa ports by rail, while that of Warri Port is ongoing.
Sambo, said, “In this regard we have already ongoing projects from Lagos all the way to Kano, from Kano to Maradi in Niger Republic, we have the Eastern line connecting Port- Harcourt and Maiduguri, it is the narrow gauge we are rehabilitating and we would have loved to have the standard gauge linking the two major cities and other cities, both in the South and in the North.”
He emphasised that the major focus of Nigeria is to ensure that every capital city is connected by rail because every part of the country is blessed with abundant natural resources that need to be moved quickly into markets.
He said Nigeria has over 850kms of coastline strategically placed along the gulf of Guinea and the whole idea is to connect the six seaports in Nigeria located in the south to the hinterland and even beyond.
On the need to attract the biggest shipping vessels to the country, the Federal Government initiated creating of deep seaports with an average draught of 15m, he said: “The six seaports of Nigeria were built in 1980’s, one or two of them were built around 1913 and 1921 and a lot of them require massive upgrade and rehabilitation and the major one is the Apapa – Tincan port which contributes and accounts for about 70 per cent of Nigeria’s imports.”