- The China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) has said that a railway construction project to aid transportation in Abuja will soon be completed
- The CCECC revealed that the project is worth 823 million dollars (about N299 billion)
- Upon completion, the project will be commissioned by the president
Lauretta Onochie, the personal assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on new media, a modern metro line which will ease transportation for Abuja residents will soon be commissioned.
The China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) said that the phase one of Abuja rail mass transit project will be commissioned by December, 2018, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
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The project manager, Kong Tao, said this while addressing newsmen who were on tour of the site at Idu, Abuja, on Tuesday, May 29.
Tao said that the rail transit, which cost 823 million dollars (about N299 billion), consisted of lots 1A and 3, covering 45km with 12 designed passengers’ stations.
He said: ”The rail linked the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, to the Central Business District. The line of the rail mass transit is double-track line of right side running, and standard-gauge is 1435 mm. Work on the large scale project is going on smoothly.”
A view of the railway track (Photo Credit: NAN)
According to him, it will be test-run by November and will be commissioned for public usage in December. He said that the project, after completion, would generate employment and boost the commercial activities of the host communities.
A base station of the metro line (Photo Credit: NAN)
Tao remarked: “Abuja rail mass transit project is bound to accelerate the growth of national economy. The realisation of this large scale project will definitely deliver much benefits to the general public, such as better investment environment.
”It will also enhance better living condition, more employment, land value enhancement, energy saving and greater social responsibility."
One of the trains to be launched (Photo Credit: NAN)
Tao, however, expressed concern about the vandalism of the rail facilities of the company. He said: “Despite the presence of security personnel, thieves still operate on weekly basis."
He said that host communities often destroyed the perimeter fencing built to prevent trespassing on the rail track. This endangers lives as operational trains move constantly on the rail track.
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Tao stated: “Safety is the most important thing in our operation. Even though we built fence to prevent trespass, they break it to cross the rail rack.”
Meanwhile, NAIJ.com reported that the president had commissioned two manufacturing plants in Kano state as part of his two-day visit to the state.
In a statement by Garba Shehu who is the senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, he said Buhari commissioned two newly-established agro-based industries.
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Source: Naija.ng