Nigeria’s Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi has said the linkage of standard gauge railway line to Apapa Port will ease off movements of goods into and out of the ports with a long term effect of boosting the nation’s economy through rail transport.
This according to a report by Leadership is part of the ways of integrating the maritime sector into rail master structure.
Speaking in Lagos recently during the World Maritime Day, the minister also said seaports in Nigeria must be linked by rail under the policy of the government.
“We have put in place a 25-year modernisation program for the rail system. With the master plan, we have taken rail from where the past government stopped into the Seaports”.
According to the Minister, the plan originally for Lagos- Kano rail line was to begin from Ebutte Metta to Apapa seaport.
“With this, when you bring in your goods, you turn them to the rail that takes them to the hinterland. The one from Lagos-Calabar will link Calabar, Port Harcourt, and Onne seaports and so on”.
Speaking further, the minister said the importance of the deep blue sea project was to secure the country’s territorial waters up to the Gulf of Guinea with a view to attracting investors’ confidence in the nation’s maritime sector.
“With this security infrastructure, the revenues of the agencies in the maritime sector will increase and the revenue of the country will also increase,” he added.
The reports further quoted the minister as lamenting on the current revenue from the maritime sector.
“Currently, maritime sector is returning less than N100 billion; whereas it should be returning above N300 billion. In terms of the economy, the maritime industry is contributing quite a lot.”
In a related development, Premium Times had earlier in 2019 reported that the minister promised the arrival of 20 new coaches for the Abuja-Kaduna and the Lagos-Ibadan rail lines.
The report says the Minister said he visited China and made orders for new trains, locomotives and coaches.
“They are all ready. It will take six weeks to get to Nigeria and maybe one week to clear them,” he said.
“For the Lagos trains, it will be easy, it will take a day or two to get it to the track. But for the trains coming to Abuja, it will take one week or two to get it here.”
It would be recalled that the Transport Ministry had paid huge attention to rail transport with a view to easing of rural-urban transportation and economic development.
By Francis Ogwo
Sources- Leadership
Premium Times
