Nigeria rail gets boost in Ajaokuta-Warri line completion

13 November 2009

The completion of the Ajaokuto-Warri line is underway with the signature by the federal government of two contracts worth a total of N33 billion (£130 million) with Team Nigeria and Julius Berger.

As a key element of the government seven-point infrastructure development agenda, the project is expected to facilitate commercial traffic on the highways leading to the Nigerian capital.

Transport minister Alhaji Isa Bio said the line would serve as a backbone to future east-west lines, which are a fundamental part of the government's long-term transport goals.

Included in the contract was the rehabilitation of the existing 254 kilometres.

Senator Garba Lado, chairman of the senate committee on land and transport, was quoted as lamenting the state of the current line, saying the project had suffered from a previous lack of commitment to transport infrastructure improvement.

"A lot of resources had been spent without much result, because adequate attention was not given to the sector," he noted.

In related news, the Chinese Civil Engineering Construction Company was recently award a government contract for the rehabilitation of the 488-kilometres Lagos-Jebba line.

Category: Transport