The Minister for Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi has said the reason for the newly approved Rail project that would link Kano-Dutse-Katsina-Jibia to Maradi in Niger Republic was for purpose of business.
The Minister who spoke to current matters on Thursday said it was competition between Nigeria and other countries in the West African sub region as to who gets more businesses in the landlocked areas that made him to initiate the project.
According to the Minister, the essence was to discourage neighbouring countries not to look in the way of other countries for cargo operations to get Nigeria’s seaports more viable, and create more business opportunities for the country.
” First and foremost is the fact that there is a business competition between us and Togo, Benin Republic and Ghana over who will get more business from the landlocked areas.So what that train does is that it’s just at the tip of Niger Republic encouraging neighbouring states not to go to Togo or Benin Republic or Ghana but just put their cargoes on the chart and it gets to Lagos.So it makes our seaports viable .It makes us to have more businesses and therefore creates jobs and create economic development.”
Amaechi said the project was conceived four years ago for the benefit of the country but its approval at a time when resources are lean and government is mostly concerned about how to shore up the economy of the country would go a long way in addressing some of the economic challenges in the country.
He disclosed that between 30,000 and 50,000 jobs are earmarked for the project and called on Nigerians to be patriotic and have faith in the administration as it was doing everything possible to put the country on a fast and sound lane of economic development.
Amaechi said apart from the boom in ports businesses, being anticipated, the Rail project will bolster economic activities from Kano to Maradi as it would make people to easily transport their products and make business less challenging.
” How do you move goods, from Kano?how do you encourage people to invest in those areas’.At the end of the day future goverments may push Port Harcourt further down inside neighbouring countries to encourage those countries to do business with the Port Harcourt seaports ” adding that what is needed is trust to move the nation forward .
Asked if the approval of a new Rail project meant the stopping of others ongoing, the minister said all the Rail projects will be done simultaneously and will be completed before the end of the current administration .He disclosed that the Itakpe Warri project will be commissioned on Tuesday, Itakpe Warri ended in Warri without going to the seaport so I have asked them to cost it so I can take it to cabinet and we can extend it to the old seaport.
On the security of the Rail projects cited in areas of frequent security breaches , the minister said the Rail projects have no issue with security and reports about attack on railways were fabricated.
President Buhari on Wednesday at the Federal Executive Council FEC meeting at the Presidential Villa, approved the Rail project linking Kano-Dutse-Katsina-Jibia -Maradi at the cost of $1.9bn inclusive of Value Added Tax (VAT).
Current matters spoke to other Nigerians to get their opinion on the new Rail project.
A businessman, Mustapha ,who deals in consumables said it was a good idea on the part of government to initiate the project but hoped that it will not be an elephant project.
A female entrepreneur who pleaded anonymous said all over the world Infrastructures are the hallmarks of development so why not in Nigeria? ‘I wished other governments before the present government had come up with bold initiatives as this and taken this a step further,by now our country will look not too far like countries in Europe’ She said
A media consultant who simply goes by the name Happy, also spoke on the advantages of the Rail project and said ‘the project will accelerate growth in the country as a lot of people along the routes will be beneficiaries.
The diversification of our transport system will benefit the Rail projects put in place by the Buhari government. It also means that people will travel from place to place along those routes across the country at a cheaper rate than they would do if they were to travel by road.
“So if you look at it, wherever the train stations are built, wherever the trains will stop, there will be small time business people who would be doing business along the rail way areas by selling food items and others and so frankly, there is room for quite a lot of economic activities and that is what is required at a time of economic meltdown when federal government needs extra money to finance the provision of infrastructure.In truth, the benefits are very enormous.’ he said.
