The Federal Government disclosed that the delay in securing the loan facility would cause a slowdown towards the planned commencement of the coastal rail as well as the Ibadan-kano standard gauge rail projects.
He assured that work would commence as soon as the loan for the take-off was granted. The coastal rail line is expected to connect Port-harcourt, Warri, Onitsha and other cities within the axis.
Already, the government has applied for a loan from China and will commence work on the first segment once the facility is secured.
Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, made the disclosure during an inspection tour of the Lagos/Ibadan rail project earlier this week.
“I am from Rivers State and it’s important that we do that (coastal rail). We have already applied for a loan. If we get the loan, we will start the segment from Port Harcourt to Warri and from Benin to Onitsha. The loan will be from China but not China EXIM bank.
“The Ibadan- Kano has been awarded. The only thing that is delaying it is the loan. Once we get it, we will start from Kano to Kaduna and see how we will go from Ibadan to Ilorin,” Amaechi said.
Meanwhile, the minister has expressed worries over the pace of work on the Lagos – Ibadan railway project, calling on the contractors to increase the pace of work.
According to the minister, the contractors have no reason for further slowing down of the job, as the government paid them last Friday, said:
“CCECC has not done too well. I used the phrase too well because, at a time, they did us proud by trying to push this job”.
They claim that at the end of the last government, we were owing them some money and we had not given approvals for the extra and additional jobs. But that’s not an excuse because we will still have given the approval.
“So, they have slowed down so badly. We need to get them to that speed that they were before the last government was dissolved. We paid them on Friday. “The cabinet and president has approved the additional and extra works so they have no excuse.
So if we get the loan for Ibadan- Kano, there will not be delays. We can then start quickly from Kano to Kaduna and Ibadan to Ilorin so we can quickly finish
He, however, hoped the contractors will consider working day and night, as they were doing in the past.
On the challenges within the Apapa area, Amaechi disclosed that there was the problem of “urbanisation”.
He, nonetheless, assured that the issues of water pipes, gas, and fuel, would be dealt with.
When asked about the flour mills, the former Rivers State governor noted that that would not be a problem, as adequate compensation will after demolishing the stretch critical to the project.
