Chairman, Senate Committee on Land Transport, Senator Sahabi Ya’u-Kaura, yesterday said the rehabilitation of the 221 kilometre Zaria-Kaura-Namoda rail line had reached 56 percent completion.
The Senator, who said this in an interview with newsmen after inspecting the project, yesterday assured Nigerians that the Federal Government was committed to revitalising railway services.
“From what we have seen so far and from the report we received from the contractors, the level of work had reached about 56 per cent,” he said.
The Tide source reports that the committee members joined the train through the 83 kilometre Zaria-Funtua route to test-run the rehabilitation.
Ya’u-Kaura said, “we are here to inspect the ongoing rail rehabilitation from Zaria to Kaura-Namoda. The essence is to see the level of work done by the contractors.”
He said also that the rehabilitation work from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri was ongoing, while that of Lagos to Ibadan would be completed in the next two years.
The Senator also said work on the standard gauge rail system from Abuja to Kaduna had reached an advanced stage, adding that it would be completed before the year ends.
According to him, the second and third phases from Kaduna to Kano and Ibadan to Ilorin respectively, would start soon.
In his comment, Mr Adeseyi Sijuwade, the Managing Director, Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) expressed happiness with the level of work.
“As you can see we have actually come by rail all the way from Funtua. The rail line is fully rehabilitated, we now have balanced retainer wall and the bridges are also fully rehabilitated.
“We are happy that the work is moving well and we hope by the middle of this year, the work will be completed and full operation will resume,” he said.
Mr Steven Onwude, the Project Manager, Duluidas Nigeria Ltd, handlers of the project, attributed the slow pace of work to some problems that had been solved.
He, however, appealed to the Federal Government to ensure prompt and consistent payment to enable it deliver on time.