Federal government to link Ado-Ekiti, Osogbo by rail

Federal government to link Ado-Ekiti, Osogbo by rail

- The federal government has said that the Ekiti state capital, Ado-Ekiti, will be connected to Lagos-Kano rail line

- This was disclosed by the minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi

- Amaechi signed a $6.68 billion dollars contract agreement for the Ibadan-Kaduna segment with China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation

- The Ibadan-Kaduna standard gauge line will pass through Osogbo-Ilorin-Minna to Kaduna

The minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, on Tuesday, May 15, said that Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti state capital, will be connected to Lagos-Kano rail line just as he signed a $6.68 billion dollars contract agreement for the Ibadan-Kaduna segment with China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC).

Amaechi said at the signing ceremony in Abuja that Ado-Ekiti would be connected with a single track branch line from Osogbo. He signed the contract on behalf of the federal government, NAN reports.

He said: “This agreement is for the Ibadan-Kaduna rail line, which is part of the Lagos-Kano rail line, the completion time of the contract should be between two to three years, depending on availability of funds.”

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Legit.ng notes that Amaechi promised that the ministry would be able to provide its counterpart funding between 2018 and 2019 budget provision, stating that the contract was a fulfilment of federal government’s plan to complete the Lagos-Kano rail modernisation project.

The minister added: “The Ibadan-Kaduna standard gauge line will pass through Osogbo-Ilorin-Minna to Kaduna, with a single track branch line from Osogbo to Ado-Ekiti.

“This contract is in fulfilment of federal government’s plan to complete the Lagos-Kano rail modernisation project started in 2006 and broken into segments for implementation.

“The segmentation phase commenced from Abuja-Kaduna rail line in 2011, which was completed and commissioned into commercial operation by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2016.

“The federal government in March 2017 commenced the second leg of the Lagos-Kano line that is currently ongoing and planned to be completed by the end of 2018.

“The signing of the Ibadan–Kaduna segment contract agreement today concludes all outstanding segments of the Lagos-Kano rail line."

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Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, on Wednesday, February 21, approved 6.7 billion dollars for the construction of Ibadan-Kaduna standard gauge railway project.

Addressing State House correspondents on the outcome of the meeting held at State House Council Chamber, Abuja, the minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, said the project was part of the Ibadan to Kano railway project.

According to him, the Kaduna to Kano standard gauge project had earlier been awarded by the government.

A ride on the Abuja-Kaduna railway - on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit.ng

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