Senate tasks FG on rehabilitation, concession of Eastern rail line

The Senate has urged the Federal Government to prioritise the rehabilitation and concession agreement for the Eastern rail line.

This, according to the Upper Chamber was in recognition of its huge revenue potential to the national economy and for movement of people to reduce the burden on dilapidated roads in the axis.

The resolution was a sequel to a motion on “Urgent Need to resuscitate and Re-activate the Rehabilitation and Concession of the Eastern Rail line Project.”

The motion was sponsored by Sen. Orji Uzor Kalu (APC-Abia) and co-sponsored by 101 senators during plenary.

The upper chamber also mandated its Committee on Land Transport to interface with the relevant ministry and agencies of the Executive to facilitate the commencement of the Eastern corridor.

It also mandated its Committee on Compliance to ensure compliance and report back to the Senate in three weeks for further legislative action.

Moving the motion, Kalu said that one of the greatest challenges facing the nation as an emerging economy was poor infrastructural development.

“Specifically, the movement of goods and persons from one point to another is becoming very cumbersome, if not hazardous,” he said.

The lawmaker further noted that the Federal Government in recognition of the fact that there was a dire need for transformation of the Nigerian Railway system into a more dynamic and functional one, encouraged the use of rail to reduce road traffic congestion problems.

“The Federal Government in 2017 entered into an agreement with General Electric, a Boston, United States-based company, under the Rehabilitations and Concession of Western and Eastern Railway lines to connect Abia, Rivers, Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Kwara, Kaduna, Katsina, Enugu, Bauchi, Gombe, Plateau, Borno, Yobe and Kano states.

“While the Western lines of 1,126 Km are from Lagos to Kano and Nguru 230 km, Funtua 100km and Kaura Namoda 121 km, the Eastern lines are from Port Harcourt to Kaduna 915km, Maiduguri 706 km, Jos 35 km,” he said.

He further said that even though the railways were more efficient in the haulage of bulk loads over long distances in environmental and economic ease including cargoes and petroleum products, the sector suffered neglect, especially the Eastern rail line.  (Daily Independent)