UPDATE: Lagos-Ibadan rail line to be delivered in January 2021 ― Amaechi

Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, during an inspection of the Lagos-Ibadan rail project, at the weekend said the project may be completed in January 2021.

Billed to be delivered in May 2020, the completion date has suffered many delays due to challenges ranging from compensation to underground oil pipeline, with the worse being the COVID19 pandemic which forced contractors to stop work on the project for three months.

The Minister inspected the project from Apapa port to Ibadan Mega station.

Tribune Online observed that the buildings standing in the Right of Way of the rail line at Apapa port which were supposed to be demolished were still on standing due to the fact that work stopped because of COVID19.

Before the outbreak of the pandemic, the Minister had ordered CCECC to collaborate with the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA), Flour Mill and other partners to ensure the successful remover of the structures.

Our reporters also observed that work on the stations from Agege station to Kajola, Olodo to Ibadan has been drastically slowed down due to the pandemic.

Tasking the CCECC to return back on site, Amaechi said “COVID19 may be here with us for some time, we need to return back to work.

“I inspected the Abuja-Kaduna rail line, I did not die, I inspected the Itakpe-Warri rail route, I did not die and now I am here.”

He asked CCECC to provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for her workers in order to enable them to return back to the site in a safe environment.

“You should make available to your workers face mask, face shield and hand sanitiser to prevent them from touching their faces while working. Let them return back to work, we must move forward,” he stated.

The Minister further stated that “you have from now till January 1st, 2021 to deliver this project. By the time we come here again, we would like to see everything almost done on the stations.”

Meanwhile, the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed commended the level of work done on the Lagos-Ibadan rail line, calling on Nigerians to come and see what Federal Government has been doing with the borrowed money.

According to him, “for those who are asking where we are burning the money we borrowed, you can now see where the money is. We made a promise to Nigerians and this is one of the manifestations of what we have been able to do.

“Please come and see for yourselves what we are doing with the money we borrowed. I am very excited because of the work done here,” Mohammed stated.

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