The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has disclosed that the $1.6 billion Lagos-Ibadan railway project will be completed on or before January 2021.
This disclosure was made by the Minister while speaking during an interview in Lagos.
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"By December to January we should have completed the Lagos-Ibadan, then if we do there's need to decide vehicles that can go to Lagos and the capacity of such vehicles or trucks"- Minister for @Transport, @ChibuikeAmaechi. pic.twitter.com/46c5GKeENh
— Government of Nigeria (@NigeriaGov) October 2, 2020
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He explained that by December 2020, to the first or second week in January 2021, the project should have been completed.
As the road infrastructures would not last without the construction of functional rail lines, he emphasized that there would be a restriction on the type and capacity of vehicles that can ply the expressways in the country, so as to reduce destruction.
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The restriction is needed to reduce traffic congestion, ensure the safety of people and property, and also the safety of the road infrastructures across the country.
“By December to the first or second week in January, we should have completed the Lagos-Ibadan. If we do, there would be need to decide what vehicles can go to Lagos, and the capacity of such vehicles or trucks, as this would reduce the destruction that has happened on our roads,” Amaechi said.
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He added that in a bid to make this a reality, the railway would be put to use, as cargoes from Apapa Seaport will be transferred to Ibadan via the railway.
While the Ibadan-Kano rail project is under construction, the expressway would be used to convey cargoes, pending the completion of the railway, which should be completed between 2-3 years.
Amaechi stressed the need to ramp-up the construction of the railways to ease the burden off the expressways, he said doing so will help to ward off the destruction on the infrastructure, caused by trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles.
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As tankers are plying the road infrastructures with excess cargoes, He reiterated that the best way is to move all the cargoes to the rail tracks.
Mr. Rotimi Amaechi advised more patience and understanding with the government, to allow them to complete the infrastructures and the myriads of projects the government is working on.
