Minister of Transport, Senator Saidu Ahmad Alkali, has assured that the Kano to Maradi rail line project, with an estimated cost of approximately $2 billion, awarded during the previous administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, will be completed by 2025.
The minister made this announcement during an inspection of the project, which began at Dawanau in Kano and is slated to extend to Niger Republic.
According to him, “The project has reached 80 percent competition stage while real rail line work would soon commence after the earthworks”.
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“I’m impressed with what we have seen we comes all the way from Dawanau where the project started so that we have first hands information of the level of the execution of the project and the Contractors are in compliance with the level of specifications of the jobs”.
Commenting on whether the Contractor would meet the set target of the completion of the project the Minister disclosed that the major work has been done and there is every tendency that they would meet the target.
Senator Alkali noted in admiration of the contractor work that from Dawanau Kano to Daura area the Bush, and earth clearing were done perfectly and that the contract is smoothly going on without any hitches.
While speaking on whether the original cost of the project would be readjusted to meet the current high cost of production realities, the Minister said even the Contractor should make some sacrifice to contribute his quota in the fixing of Nigeria by the Tinubu-led administration.
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While speaking on the occasion, the Lead Contractor, Mr. Vladislav Bystrenko, said the contract sum was $1.95 billion dollars and that they signed contractual obligations around 2021 with the Federal Government.
According to him, “Before the money was released to them, they went ahead with some major job of designing, land survey, supervision of the entire area of the contract to reduced major part of the project.
He however promised that the government is highly serious about completing the project by the fixed year of 2025.
In continuation of his visit, Senator Alkali while in Daura, inspected the Muhammadu Buhari University of Transportation, while the Head of the University promised to commence admissions in the institution next month.