The Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) has concluded plans to test run the newly rehabilitated the rail tracks stretching from Lagos to Jebba and then to Kano by the end of this month just as commercial operations will commence before the end of the year.
Disclosing this to newsmen weekend NRC’s Managing Director Mr. Adeseyi Sijuade stated that the Corporations has also perfected plans concession the said rail tracks immediately after the NRC commercial operations.
The Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) has concluded plans to test run the newly rehabilitated the rail tracks stretching from Lagos to Jebba and then to Kano by the end of this month just as commercial operations will commence before the end of the year.
Disclosing this to newsmen weekend NRC’s Managing Director Mr. Adeseyi Sijuade stated that the Corporations has also perfected plans concession the said rail tracks immediately after the NRC commercial operations.
Sijuade who spoke at the investiture and induction ceremony of the African Centre for Supply Chain held in Lagos said that the Act setting the NRC will be amended before the concession process commences.
He explained that the rehabilitation of the rail tracks is a project that started about years ago and was broken into sessions starting with the 488 kilometers Lagos – Jebba which is awarded to the Chinese Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC.
He further explained the second part of the project which is about 600kilometre stretching from Jebba to Kano awarded to Constain West Africa.
“The good news today is that, that line would have been fully rehabilitated by the end of this month so we are hoping to commerce trial runs on the tracks straight after which we intend to commence commercial operations.
“So it is something we are very much looking forward to and as a safe and efficient affordable movement of passengers and goods from Lagos to Kano”. He stated.
He stated that the government is actively pursuing the repeal of the existing railway Act which as at today makes the NRC the only organisation that can operate railway in Nigeria.
His words “In parallel to the passage of the railway bill, we also have the concessioning programme taking place.
“As I speak with you we have concluded the business outline case for the concessioning programme and very soon we will be appointing transaction advisers and sending out expression of interest to interested concessionaires”.
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