…Osinbajo to lay foundation for Kajola factory
…Why we allow passengers standing on Abuja-Kaduna rail
Free train ride on the Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge rail project will begin on November 30, this year, the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi said on Monday.
The move according to him, would further ease travel pattern especially for those who wish to travel for the Christmas.
The Minister noted that the operation will commence with two executive coaches, pending when more coaches will arrive from China.
Ameachi also revealed that Nigeria’s Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo will lay the foundation for the establishment of the Railway Factory proposed for assembling and manufacturing of coaches and locomotives at Kajola before the end of November.
It is expected that the factory would create employment and boost the country’s economy.
On the free train ride, he said: “My concern is to have coaches on these tracks to convey passengers who will like to travel for Christmas.
“On the 30th, we will commence test run but the issue is that we want to start it from Ebute Meta but they are saying it is Iju that is ready. As far as Lagosians are concerned, Iju is in Ogun State, and that is why I am pushing them to get to Ebute Meta.
“We may start with the executive coaches. The reason why I am certain about the ride is because of the fact that other coaches are expected to arrive in Nigeria from China before Christmas.
“Even if they arrive in the second week of December, we don’t know how long it will take them to be cleared from the seaport. Once they are cleared from the seaport, it may take one or two days for them to get here.
“But I will struggle to make sure that before Christmas, it happens. But even if it does not happen, the executive coach will be available. The only problem with this is that we will insist on 24 passengers on each coach, making it 48 for the two.”
Speaking
on the progress of work on the route, the minister explained that the policy
change by the Chinese will hasten the completion of the project.
He said: “It was good that they have changed all their policies.
Before now, they bring all materials from China and they have to wait for it to
be imported before they start work despite their readiness to work.
“Now, they have said that all materials will be gotten locally. Why do they have to import doors, windows from China? With the change of policy, the progress of work will improve.”
On the reason for the slow pace of work, he said: “They said the reason for the delay is due the inclement weather.
He
also dismissed the notion that another contractor would have performed
differently.
“The delay is caused by the weather and there is nothing anybody can do.
If we come back next month and their excuse remains weather related, there is
nothing we can do.
“They
just told me that out of the 30 days in a month, it rained 23 days. They also
said that even if it stops raining, they need few days for soil to be ready for
the work. We just have to pray that the rain doesn’t fall.”
On Kajola factory, he said: “In signing the agreement between Nigeria and
the Chinese company, we agreed with them that they should produce most of the
materials they need locally and they said it would be a bit difficult for them.
So we reached an agreement that they should start assembling wagons.
“Five years after that, they should start producing wagons and assembling coaches and locomotives and ten years after that, they should start producing locomotives and coaches here.
“Their argument is that if they produce, we will buy from them instead of buying from outside and I told them that we will enter into agreement to buy from them. That way, we will be able to pay naira and save the scarce dollars.”
The
Minister also noted that the factory will be solely owned by the Chinese.
“We are not contributing anything to the establishment of the factory and
the transport university. It is their investment. The implication is for them
to look at the benefit. The assembling company, I must state belongs to
the Chinese. The most important thing is that irrespective of who owns the
factory, it will create employment and improve the economy which is our target
at the end of the day.”
Giving reasons why Abuja-Kaduna has continued to experience passenger surge, Amaechi said: “The reason why we allowed standing on the Abuja-Kaduna is because the insecurity has made it unbearable for us to insist on sitting.
“But once we get the next ten coaches we are sending to Kaduna, the situation where passengers stand inside our coaches will stop. Although it will not solve the problem of addressing the 3,700 passengers but at least it will reduce the number of passengers we carry.
“The actual number of sitting passengers on the coaches serving the Abuja-Kaduna is over 1,000, but we are carrying 3,700 daily. So if you add 10 coaches of 84 passengers per coach, you will know that we are under pressure.
“But we know that when the coaches come and we make it more regular, the pressure will be reduced. If we increase the schedules to about ten, then the passengers will no longer have to stand.”