NewsNigeriaTransportationWhy delivery of Port Harcourt-Maiduguri rail project by May 2023 is no longer  feasible — FG

https://www.westafricanpilotnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Muazu-Sambo-1280x853.jpg

The failure to secure loans in the international debt market to finance the reconstruction of the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri Rail Line.

The Minister of Transportation, Muazu Sambo, disclosed this in Abuja  on Wednesday.

This dashes the expectation that a key national infrastructure will be ready in time before the end of the Buhari administration.

President Muhammadu Buhari had last March performed the groundbreaking ceremony to commence the reconstruction of the rail line, which was originally built by the British before Nigeria’s independence in 1960.

The FG had said the project would be ready before the expiration of the Buhari administration next year.

However, Sambo said the delivery of the eastern rail line before Buhari’s tenure ends, was no longer feasible because of failure to secure loans to back the financing of the project.

“The question relates to the promise to deliver the eastern line narrow gauge before the end of this administration,” said Mr Sambo, addressing journalists at the State House. “Now, the eastern line is the line from Port Harcourt-Maiduguri, it has been segmented in such a way that the first part of the works covers from Port Harcourt to Enugu.”

“Now, the truth of the matter is that if there was a promise to deliver this line before the end of this administration, this promise is no longer feasible because, when the contract was approved, it was approved on the premise that 85 per cent will be funded through the foreign loan, while 15 per cent will be the counterpart funding for the national budget.

“Since that approval, we have not been able to obtain that 85 per cent foreign loan for this project. We have been funding it through the national budget on the bases of the 15 per cent counterpart funding of the federal government. And therefore, funding has been a major challenge for this project,” he said.

Beloved John (Staff Writer)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

WP2Social Auto Publish Powered By : XYZScripts.com