The Federal government of Nigeria is set to undertake a close to US$ 192M rehabilitation project on the 200-kilometer Minna-Baro railway route. This was revealed by Fidet Okhiria, the managing director of Nigerian Railway Corporation, in a recent meeting with officials from the Chinese Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC).
Okhiria said that the government would provide funding for the project which is expected to be completed in 2023, and enable people to travel between Lagos, Abuja, and Kano easily.
The Minna-Baro railway line would go through the seven terminals of Egba, Katcha, Baro, Lafiagi, Minna, Kateregi, and Badegi in Niger.
The start of the Minna-Baro Railway rehabilitation project
The NRC MD stated that they had arrived in Minna for a project kick-off meeting for the Minna-Baro railway. The meeting was intended to allow them to organize their program plan to guarantee the contract granted to restore the Minna-Baro rail track was completed in the three-year time frame.
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He said that the contractor had submitted a request for finance mobilization and was already deploying equipment to the site.
According to Okhiria, a draft payment assurance had been submitted to the Ministry of Finance and they shall advance payment to the contractor to begin work after confirming the document.
The narrow gauge rail line would be installed in such a way that it may be upgraded to a standard gauge in the future.
