Kano- Maradi Railway Project Has Reached Stage Of Loan Negotiation-Ameachi

The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Ameachi said the railway line between Kano and Maradi in the Niger Republic, has presently reached the stage of loan negotiation.

This is coming despite the pushback trailing the approval of a negotiations towards bringing the project to reality.

 

Ameachi who stated this over weekend, also added that the Federal Government has begun to expedite the process, hinting that it could be the next rail project while addressing journalists during the inspection of the new standard gauge line from Lagos to Ibadan.

He said, “Kano-Maradi is at the stage of loan negotiation. In fact, we are fast-tracking it. They are doing front end engineering even before the loan- we are insisting on that. We believe that the front end engineering should end before January. We should be able to start construction before that.

“However, we have told them that we cannot wait till January. We have told them to acquire Right of way, pay compensation, so we can be ready when the front end engineering is over.

“There is a transition period between now and January. I suspect Kano-Maradi will start first. At Ibadan-Kano, they have begun acquiring Right of way and pay compensation in Ibadan-Kano, which will start soon.

The Minister said there is no more deadline for the Chinese contractors, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, reiterating that it is important to deliver a durable project than pushing for quick commissioning of the project.

He added that the Federal Government is expected to borrow from European banks to fund Kano-Maradi projects. He explained that it is tedious to borrow from the Chinese than other banks.

He said, “We don’t have deadline again. The most important thing is to have a durable project. We need to build something that will withstand the test of time. No timeline, the job is coming to an end.

“It will be unfair not to praise these people because the last time we inspected the project, I was quarrelling with them.

“We quarrelled at almost all the stations. But today, the only stations I am not happy with them are Papalanto and Abeokuta. Out of ten, there is a huge improvement in the last eight.”

He added, “We have other projects to start and what is delaying them is funding. There are no funds. We believe that the fastest will be Kano-Maradi. The Chinese have a way of slowing down the loan process. In fact, it is worst after the imbroglio in the National Assembly.

“They moved from October to December and now we are hearing the first quarter. There is a third project which is the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri. I can’t give you timelines on that.

“It is much tedious to borrow from the Chinese (as much as the terms are good) than others. The next project that will kick off is Kano-Maradi whose loan is coming from the European banks.”

Speaking on the project, an Italian consultant on the project, TEAM Group said it tedious working with the Chinese contractors.

According to the Deputy Head Architecture, Yetunde Ogunwunmi said that the contractors are not used to working with consultants.

She said, “It has taken sometime for us to build trust with them to have a better project. Right now, we are in a place where we argue and solve issues together ourselves. The Chinese are not used to working with consultants.

“We are all working from different standards. My company is Italian and these are two different standards clashing and until all the documentation is given, we have to argue, fight and agree about the standards of the project we should be using and that is a lot of this conflict that you see.”

Meanwhile, Managing Director of the Nigeria Railway Corporation, Fidet Okhiria, however, stated that by November, the Lagos-Ibadan railway should commence so people can enjoy the benefits of the project.