Engage local contractors to sustain ongoing railway investments, expert tells FG

April 5, 2022

FILE PHOTO

A Nigerian UK-based railway expert, James Akpoviroro has urged the Federal Government (FG) to engage skilled local contractors in a bid to sustain its ongoing investment in rail infrastructure in the country.

Akpoviroro who was a former underground specialist in London said it was imperative for the government to avoid the current situation of some key infrastructures like the Ajaokuta Steel Company.

In a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja, he said engaging indigenous contractors will help retain foreign exchange and reduce contracts cost, especially the maintenance of existing railway infrastructure.

According to him, investment in rail transport will boost employment, hence the need to engage indigenous experts to lower costs and create sustainable maintenance plans.

“Instead of always going abroad to look for loans, let us look inward and bring Nigerians with technical and financial strength on board. We can’t build a railway in a day. We need to do it gradually.

“If the private sector in Nigeria is considered, there are lots of experts, if you give them the green light that the government will be sincere and consistent, most of the experts abroad would relocate,” he said.

He noted that Nigeria has not done badly in the effort to overhaul railways in the country, but stressed that the involvement of local experts remained sacrosanct.

Nigeria has been investing massively in railways aimed at connecting the country to boost industrialisation.

While the Abuja- Kaduna line has been in operation, Abuja Metro Rail, the 327km Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri Rail which started in 1987, was completed in 2020.

The 156km Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge Railway with an extension to Lagos Port, funded by the Export-Import Bank of China has also been running.

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