By; MATTHEW UKACHUNWA, Lagos
Work on the reconstruction of Port Harcourt to Kano railway is expected to start before the end of February 2022.
In addition, fund is being sourced for the standard gauge rail line from Port Harcourt to Maidugri, and same thing from Calabar to Lagos.
Engr. Fidet Okhiria, the Managing Director of Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC), disclosed the development during a quarterly media briefing in Lagos on Monday.
He said that the corporation is meeting with contractor, CRCC International, on the Public-Private sectors Partnership (PPP) arrangements on the project between Itakpe to Abuja. “We’re meeting with them so that we can see how soon we can mobilize to site,” Okhiria said.
He pointed out that the reconstruction of the narrow gauge will go to Owerri from where it will be extended to Abakiliki from Enugu. “The narrow gauge will also link the Warri deep sea and link the rail train complex in Port Harcourt,” the NRC leader highlighted.
According to him, from the North-East, the project will proceed to Damaturu where the standard gauge will link to respective places.
He said that Calabar-Lagos work is taking off from Calabar, Uyo, Bayelsa, Warri to Benin. “And from Benin we come back to Agbor, Agbor to Asaba and Asaba to Onitsha, Onitsha to Enugu to Abakiliki, then from Benin straight to Lagos,” Okhiria specified.
He stated that somewhere from Ore, work will proceed to Ondo, adding that Ibadan to Kano will also branch to Osogbo and to Ekiti. “So that is the plan on ground, and we are hoping Kano-Kaduna will be linked before the end of this year,” the railway chief declared.
He said that the loan or the counterpart funding has not been received.
On how to achieve smooth and uninterrupted operations, he stressed that without more rolling stocks the service will not be that smooth. The NRC managing director said: “You have to have redundancy in our spare parts and rolling stocks so that we will have time to draw some coaches for proper maintenance – what is called periodic overhaul – so that when you withdraw one, there will be one available that will be redeployed and will be seamless and people not notice.”
He explained that the contract for both the narrow gauge rolling stocks and standard gauge rolling stocks have been awarded. These include locomotives for standard gauge and locomotives for narrow gauge, coaches for standard gauge and coaches for narrow gauge, wagons for standard gauge and wagons for narrow gauge.
Okhiria said that narrow gauge will still remain in use until every place is covered with standard gauge railway.
He expressed confidence that having enough of rolling stocks, spare parts, tools is the right way to go in solving the operational problems of the railway industry in Nigeria – the problem of lack of continuity inclusive.
Okhiria assured that there is a plan of having spare parts available so that the system will not collapse.
He said that the corporation is mechanizing the system so that the tracks are lifted as when due.
###
