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nairaland.net • View topic - Nigeria to rehab railway system with 2 billion dollars
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Nigeria to rehab railway system with 2 billion dollars

PostPosted: Sat May 20, 2006 4:21 am
by Richard Akindele
The Nigerian government is to rehabilitate and modernize the country's rail system with 2 billion U.S. dollars, a senior Nigerian official said here on Thursday.

"Nigeria has recently entered into an agreement with China for a concessional loan of 1 billion dollars for the rehabilitation and modernization of its rail system," Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Transport Babangida Aliyu said, adding that Nigeria had also approved another 1 billion dollars as its own counterpart funding for the project.

The government on Thursday inaugurated six "sub-project engineering teams" to facilitate the rehabilitation and modernization of the railway system, he said.

The teams are Old Tracks Rehabilitation, New Lines, Rolling Stock and New Acquisition, Signals and Communications, Security and Safety and Procurement. They were expected to assist the contractors with technical inputs for the rehabilitation work, he added.

Aliyu described the assignment as "enormous," noting that the government wanted results, in order to fully revive the rail system.

He charged the project teams to work as a team, as well as share the same vision, so as to bring back the lost glory of the railways.

"We want the teams to be very serious and up and doing in their assignments, so that those that gave us the loan, the contractors, Nigerians and government will have confidence in the rehabilitation work," Aliyu said.

"We want a functional rail system to reduce pressure on our roads and also boost socio-economic activities in places were the rail lines passes," he added.

The project teams are expected to work with the ministry's consultants Messers TEAM Nig. Ltd. in analyzing the various submissions needed to put the rail system back on track.

Nigerian President Obasanjo has already constituted presidential and ministerial committees to ensure the smooth implementation of the rail rehabilitation exercise as well as monitor the progress of work.

Nigeria has about 3,502 kilometers of rail lines which run across some parts of the country. But due to lack of managerial expertise and maintenance measures, the rail system has a low efficiency and does not function well.

Source: Xinhua

Nigeria to spend 8.3 billion dollars on rail project

PostPosted: Thu Aug 10, 2006 1:58 pm
by Richard Akindele
The Nigerian government has said it planned to spend 8.3 billion U.S. dollars on the rehabilitation and modernization of the country's railway system.

In a special nationwide broadcast on Wednesday evening, specifically to outline government's plan to revive the ailing railway system, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo said the first phase of the project should be completed within four years.

He said that 2 billion dollars of the cost would be obtained as a soft loan from the Chinese government, noting that the second phase covering the Port Harcourt to Jos line would commence as soon as the first phase was completed.

"Contract formalities for the award and commencement of Lagos- Kano First Phase Project of the modernization program will be signed this month; and construction work will commence immediately thereafter," he said.

He said the government was committing 2.5 billion dollars and 1 billion dollars from the Chinese government concessionary loan in addition to a 1.5 billion dollars federal government counterpart funding on the project between 2006 and 2007.

"It is my hope that subsequent administrations will buy into this vision and that other friendly countries will offer similar concessionary loan assistance to continue the project in the years ahead with the possibility of a West African regional railway system," he said.

He therefore warned those that had encroached on railway land to "quietly leave such piece of land to save the government and themselves the effort of using all means to reclaim such right of way."

He also said that there would still be the need to acquire new land for the modernization and expansion to new locations and appealed to state governments and land occupiers to co-operate in making land available for this all-important project.

"No nation has achieved holistic development in all its ramifications without a coherent, integrated, efficient and reliable transportation system," he said, while emphasizing the need for the federal government to revive the railways for the benefit of all.

He said a combination of corruption, poor management, inefficiency, lack of adequate marketing, failure to develop new lines and to plan ahead or introduce new technology and adaptation to global best practices led to the near total collapse of the nation's railway.

"Today, we have a new vision, a new commitment, and a holistic strategic plan encompassing expansion and modernization of the Railway to be implemented within a 25-year time frame," he said.

The construction of the rail line will employ tens of thousands of Nigerians immediately. The entire project will promote technology transfer, the building of new skills, and the development of rail allied industries. As much as possible, local materials will be used.

Source: Xinhua

Chinese Firm to Build Railway in Nigeria

PostPosted: Sun Nov 05, 2006 4:01 pm
by Richard Akindele
BEIJING — A Chinese railway company said it has signed a $8.3 billion agreement with the Nigerian government to build a railway in the West African nation, in what is likely China's largest overseas engineering project by value.

China Civil Engineering Construction Corp. said Saturday it signed a deal with Nigeria's Ministry of Transport on Oct. 30 to construct a 817 mile railway that will link the southern city of Lagos with Kano in the north.

The agreement is the latest between the Chinese company and Africa's largest oil producer, after a $300 million contract in July to build a 82 mile expressway in Nigeria.

China launched a sweeping effort over the weekend to expand its access to Africa's oil and markets, pledging billions of dollars in aid and loans as dozens of African leaders attended a Beijing conference aimed at building economic ties.

AP