The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, said the Calabar-Port Harcourt Coastal rail line and the Lagos-Kano rail modernisation project would be completed before the end of 2018.
Amaechi stated this in Abuja while signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the project with a Chinese company, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation Ltd. (CECC). He said the MoU was being signed in compliance with the China Exim Bank requirement.
“I am told that before November, we can commence the Lagos-Ibadan construction. So, we can begin to count for CCECC in the case of Lagos-Ibadan from November, hoping that in November 2018, you should have finished work,’’ he said.
He further added that the Federal Government would get the counterpart fund for the project expected to cost 3.4 billion dollars. He also noted that the ministries of Finance, Works and Housing, National Planning and Justice were all involved in efforts to drive the project to completion in record time.
The Managing Director of CCECC, Jack Li said that the project would be completed in record time and expressed optimism that the project, when completed, would not only benefit the people but the society at large.
Jack Li, further gave an assurance that the Calabar-Port Harcourt Coastal rail line would be built in line with international standard.