The federal government says the December 2018 deadline for the completion of the Lagos-Ibadan railway gauge is non-negotiable.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed stated this after the inspection of Federal Government’s infrastructural projects.
The minister, along with the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi toured the fabrication plant of the project in Papalanto, Ogun State.
“The idea of this visit actually is to showcase to Nigerians the amount of work this administration has been able to do in the last three years, starting with railways. The idea is to let Nigerians know that this government has done a lot in the area of infrastructural projects,” he said.
The Minister of Information and Culture, who expressed his appreciation at the progress of work on the project, said the construction of the standard gauge rail-line from Lagos to Kano is one of the flagship projects of this administration, which will transform the economy.
He appealed to the contractors to ensure that the December 2018 deadline for the completion of the Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge rail line is met.
Alhaji Mohammed said in addition to the construction of the standard gauge rail line, the Federal Government will also upgrade the 3,500-kilometre narrow gauge railway lines across the country.
Mr. Amaechi said that because of the capital-intensive nature of railway construction, the President has given the approval to source for funds to construct rail lines across the country.
Mr. Amaechi, who said the construction of the rail lines will give a boost to the Nigerian economy, disclosed that 7,000 people have been gainfully employed in the construction of the Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge line.
The contractors are laying 1.2 kilometres of rail-track per day on the 156-kilometre Lagos Ibadan standard gauge line, which is a section of the Lagos-Kano standard gauge line.
