FG Dumps N16 Trillion Railway Projects For N2.6trn Lagos-calabar Coastal Road

FG Dumps N16 Trillion Railway Projects For N2.6trn Lagos-calabar Coastal Road

Investigations by the Nigerian Tribune have revealed that the N2.6 trillion Lagos-Calabar Coastal road may lead to the abandonment of about N16 trillion railway projects which were incorporated in the 25-year railway roadmap unveiled during the administration of former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, and which will expire next year, 2025.

The projects include the Ibadan-Kano Standard Gauge Railway ($5.3 billion); $11.17 billion Lagos-Calabar coastal railway project; the $3.02 billion rehabilitation project for the Eastern Line (Port Harcourt-Maiduguri) and the $1.9 billion Kano-Maradi Railway project.

Checks by the Nigerian Tribune revealed that approval of the N2.6 trillion Lagos-Calabar Coastal road by the Federal Government ought to have come after the completion of the $11.17 billion Lagos-Calabar Coastal railway.

Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune, a source close to the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) lamented that the body language of the President Bola Tinubu administration has shown that there is no room for fresh railway project development.

According to the source, “Before now, what we keep hearing is that there is no funds, but suddenly there is a whole N2.6 trillion for a road that links Lagos to Calabar. It is shocking.