Apparently convinced about the inability of the contractor handling the Lagos-Ibadan railway project to meet the December 2018 target earlier set for its completion, the Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, on Tuesday ordered the company – Chinese Civil Engineering Company (CCECC) – to ensure that the train becomes operational before the presidential election scheduled for February 2019.
Amaechi had over the past few months rued the contractor’s slow pace of work on the project, during which he had summoned the management of the company to Abuja to explain their challenges with a view to addressing them to meet the December 2018 deadline.
The minister, who directed the company to ensure the completion of the project before the elections during the monthly inspection of the Lagos-Ibadan rail project in Papalando, Ogun State, said that the contractors must ensure that the tracks and bridges were completed for rail transportation services.
He said: “There must be train on the tracks before February. It doesn’t matter when, but there must be a train on the track that makes transport sense.
“What I mean by transport sense is that, it must be able to carry passengers from Abeokuta if not up-to Ibadan, we have agreed that everybody must work towards it. The next inspection is on December 18 and that is two weeks from now.
“Before, we used to have it once in a month but now it will be twice in a month to ensure that, that is achieved.
“So, we will be back here to ensure that what we have agreed to today will be implemented. The work is progressing rapidly, the weather is no longer an issue, the elements were an issue before but now it is no longer an issue.
“You should know that on the 18th, we would have started campaign, the president has emphasised that we must build infrastructure,” Amaechi stressed.
Giving an insight into the state of the project, the minister noted that out of 10 bridges only two was uncompleted, charging the contractor to ensure the completion of one of the bridges before the Dec. 18 scheduled inspection..
He restated the President Muhammadu-led government’s commitment to enhancing the nation’s infrastructure base, adding that monthly inspection on the Lagos-Ibadan railway project would now hold every two weeks to monitor its progress.
Despite the slow pace of the project, the minister commended the contractor for the quality and progress of work done at its various sites.
