Minister of Transportation, Said Alkali, has revealed that the ongoing 387-kilometre Kano-Maradi railway project is now at 60 per cent completion.
He revealed that the Federal Government has extended the project to Dutse in Jigawa State while the Kaduna-Kano rail line project was at 53 per cent completion.
The minister, who spoke at the second International Railway Conference on Monday in Abuja, said: “387km Kano-Maradi with extension to Dutse has been advanced from five per cent to 60 per cent. Also, accelerated execution of the 203km Kaduna-Kano ongoing rail modernisation project moved from 15 per cent at the inception of this administration to 53 per cent.
“While Kaduna-Kano project will be ready for completion and commissioning by December 2026, Kano-Maradi project will reach Katsina by December this year and be ready for completion and commissioning by March 2027.
“Rehabilitation of Lagos-Kano old narrow gauge for freight of goods from the seaport, connect to Dala Inland Dry Port, will be successfully completed and put to use.”
The minister said the Federal Executive Council (FEC) recently approved construction of one modern Bus Terminal in each geopolitical zone of the country.
According to him, the bus terminals will be situated at Abeokuta (South-West), Onitsha (South-East), Warri, (South-South), Lokoja (North-Central), Kano (North-West) and Gombe (North-East).
He stated that the development would enhance efficiency, public safety and ensure welfare of passengers.
Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer of De-Sadel Consortium, Samuel Uko, commended the federal government for approving highspeed rail projects in the country.
He said that Nigeria would be the world’s second-largest high-speed rail network at the completion of the project.
The De-Sadel boss further stated that the project would create two million direct and indirect jobs for the Nigerian public.