The Federal Government has announced that the Lagos-Kano narrow gauge rail line will commence freight operations in June.
This was made known during the Minister of Transportation, Saidu Alkali, visit to the project site in Kano State on Thursday.
According to the contractors, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, the line had been successfully linked to the Zawaciki Dala Dry Port in Kano, a pivotal commercial centre in the state.
Expressing satisfaction with the progress, Alkali noted, “This is the second leg of my inspection since I took over as the minister of Transportation, and the essence of the inspection is to see by myself… to ensure compliance in terms of time and specifications.”
“But the impression I have from the last visit I came is that the progress is remarkable from what I have seen.
“We came all the way from Kano, we drove on the formation that they did, they are doing the earthwork and the culvert and this is a station where they have started preparing the rail lines and the slippers so that they will use their locomotive to convey the materials on the rail line.”
The minister also said that, “I have just discussed with the contractor, we are going to segment the project by the grace of God. We are going to put Kano-Daura next year and Daura to Maradi in 2026 and Dutse to Kano in 2026.”
