Joseph Jibueze
THE Federal Government will reconstruct the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri rail line, Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi said on Monday.
The entire stretch of the rail line will be rebuilt, he said, adding that a railway industrial park in Port Harcourt will be part of the design.
He said President Muhammadu Buhari has also approved two new seaports – one in Bonny, Rivers State and the other in Warri, Delta State.
A statement by Amaechi’s Media Office said he spoke at a forum in Lagos yesterday.
He said: “We will provide railway from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri. The President has assured me. We are discussing and an announcement would be made on the project soon.
“The President has also approved the construction of two new seaports – one in Bonny and another in Warri. The first deep seaport we’ll have in Nigeria is being built in Lekki.
“There’s one being proposed by the Akwa Ibom State government. I think they call it Ibom Seaport. I’ve told them to bring it and I’ll give them all the backing they need.
“I tell people that this government is by far more business-friendly. We will leave infrastructure for Nigeria.”
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The minister said the Lagos-Kano rail was capable of moving 30 million tons of cargo; the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri line will move 11 million tons of cargo when completed.
“We will also look at the policy to ensure that after building the railways, there are certain cargoes that will not be allowed on the roads.
“This is to encourage the movement of cargo on the rail lines and to ensure that our roads last longer.
“Moving cargo across the country through rail would be cheaper and faster than the roads.”
Amaechi added that the Warri-Itakpe rail line was the first standard gauge in Nigeria.
“It was started about 34 years ago, abandoned, and now we have completed it, built stations, 1,000 housing units for staff, workshops, all ready,” he said.
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