The
Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved contract worth N1.3 billion for
the feasibility study of standard rail gauge system along six rail corridors in
the country.
This
was disclosed by Labaran Maku, the minister of information, while briefing
journalists after the weekly FEC meeting, which was presided over by President
Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Maku
noted that the rail corridors were identified under the 25 years strategic
railway development policy of the Federal Government.
The
minister briefed alongside Idris Umar, minister of transport, and Olusegun
Aganga, minister of trade and industry.
Transport
minister, explaining the awarded contract, noted that
it included studies of
the viability of the rail project and identification of business and economic
activities along the selected corridors.
He
said the feasibility study is also expected to involve identification of the
rail stations along the route as well as come up with the environmental impact
assessment, adding that the total length of the six rail lines will be 4430
kilometres and they will be completed within six months.
The
corridors include Kano/Dai/Jimbia, an approximate distance of 354km;
Ilela/Sokoto/Jega/Kontagora, 408km; Aba/Ikot Ekpene/Itu/Uyo/Udukpani/Calabar
covering a total distance of 340km;
Kano/Nguru/Geshua/Damaturu/Maiduguri/Gamburu Ngala covering 707km;
Calabar/Ikom/Obudu/Ogoja/Katsina Ala/Wukari/Jalingo/Yola/Maiduguri, 1669km.
The last
of the corridor is the rail line from Por tHarcourt /Aba/ Umuahia/ Enugu/ Lafia/Jos/Bauchi/
Biu/ Maidiguri, 550km.
Umar
further noted that the seven corridors which were earlier awarded have been
completed and contract will be awarded soon for the construction of a standard
rail line.
The
transport minister noted that the rail corridors were carefully selected to
cover areas with strong economic potentials including mining, petrochemicals,
solid minerals deposits, agricultural zones, linkages to airports and state
capitals across the country.
“We
want to ensure that within the next 25 years government will put in more effort
to ensure the development of areas through government fundings and through
public private partnership arrangements.
“The
scope of work to be carried out by the consultants will include detailed
studies for them to establish the viability of these projects, bring out the
technical, economic and financial models to establish the viability of the
project.
“They
are also to provide proposal for the alignment and connections of the urban and
commercial settlements along the proposed routes.
“They
are equally to carry out detailed surveys and design of the selected alignments
identify potential train stations and other rail base infrastructure to
incorporate them in the design”, he said.
Others
include the environmental impact assessment and identify the rail stations,
workshops and other rail base infrastructure along the route, including
engineering design and the bill of engineering measurement and the tender
document for the award of the contract in due course.
The
minister of trade and industry, also speaking at the briefing, announced that
the United Nation’s Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) has established
two regional offices in Nigeria and Ethiopia and placed the two countries under
the accelerated intervention programme for industrial development.
The
project, he said, is in recognition of the potentials and the industrial
development efforts of the two countries in Africa, adding that these are the
two countries in Africa that show the strongest and the highest potentials for
industrialisation in Africa.
BusinessDay
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