Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, Transportation minister

The Federal Executive Council has approved the contract for the repairs of the Itapke-Ajaokuta rail links.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who briefed State House correspondents at the end of the meeting presided over by the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, put the cost of the contract at  $122,616,582.

He said the cost was inclusive of all taxes at the prevailing Central Bank of Nigeria’s exchange rate of $1 to N305.

The minister said the contract, which spans 15 months, includes completion of 12 rail stations.

Mohammed said the council also approved a ‘letter of comfort’ to GE for the concession of narrow gauge railway system as the government targets the haulage of one million tons of goods by rail this year.

He said the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, approached the council seeking approval for a letter of comfort so that by October this year, the country would be able to begin the full utilisation of the Lagos-Kano narrow gauge, Calabar, Port Harcourt, Maiduguri line.

“This is part of the efforts to rehabilitate the 30,000KM narrow gauge lines so that we can use it to start hauling goods and services which means that with effect from October this year, there will be new locomotives, about 17 wagons, that will be in use.

“This way, we will be able to remove at least a million tons of goods from our roads,” Mohammed said.

He said FEC also approved a memorandum on the revised estimate cost of construction of one 150MVA and 330nos 132KVA transformer at Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State and the reinforcement of 330, 132KVA station in Kumbusto in Kano state for the Transmission Company Nigeria Limited.

Mohammed explained that the memorandum sought for a variation since the project is already 90 percent completed.