CHIGOZIE AMADI
The National Assembly yesterday said it was impressed with the ongoing works on the 203 kilometres Kaduna-Kano corridor of the nation’s rail modernisation project.
The Senate Committee Chairman on Land Transport, Adamu Aliero reaffirmed the commitment of the National Assembly in ensuring that funds are made available for timely completion of the project.
Aliero, while speaking to the press on the sidelines of the inspection at Maikarfi, Kaduna State, explained that the joint committee of both the House and also the Senate were on site to inspect the construction of a rail line between Kaduna to Kano.
“We have just taken a ride from Kano to Maikarfi. So far, we are impressed with what we have seen. We have seen a lot of dedication by the ministry and also by the contractor trying to deliver the project in time, I think 2025, they said.
“We understand that the deadline given to them is 2025 or 2026. But we are hoping that by 2025, if they sustain the tempo, they will be able to deliver. We will lobby our colleagues in the National Assembly to ensure that this project does not suffer from inadequate funding.
“There are other challenges connected with the project, particularly the funding arrangement, which we intend to discuss with the Minister of Finance, the Attorney General of the Federation, and also the Minister of Transportation,” he added.
He reiterated that the committee has oversight functions on railways, promising to do whatever was possible to ensure that the project was completed in time.
“We believe that land transportation is very vital to the economic development of this country. And there is no way a country can develop without an effective rail system,” he added.
He maintained that the Bola Tinubu government did well by continuing with the project it inherited.
“We will do everything possible to ensure that we overcome these financial constraints. The major part of the fund is coming from China Development Bank, from what we were briefed,” Adamu said.
Also speaking, the Minister of Transportation, Senator Sa’id Alkali noted that the ministry was in Maikarfi with the National Assembly, first because of powers conferred on them to oversight all ministries, departments and agencies.
“Most of the issues they will raise on the projects they have seen it by themselves. That will make it much easier for us to defend what the ministry is doing in terms of the railway modernisation,” he stated.
