Multi-billion Naira Rail Project: S/East Not Excluded – Amaechi

The Minister of Trans­portation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, has told the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts that the South East zone is indeed ad­equately captured in the 2016-2018 external borrowing plan.
Amaechi said that prior to the beginning of the Presi­dent Muhammadu Buhari ad­ministration, previous govern­ments had awarded the major contracts for the railway mod­ernisation projects.

He said: “In 2006, under the then President Olusegun Obasanjo, the contract for La­gos-Ibadan-Ilorin-Minna-Ka­no with a loop from Minna-Abuja -Kaduna was awarded to Messrs China Civil Engi­neering Construction Corpo­ration (CCECC) Nigeria Ltd at a contract sum of $8.3 billion.
“In 2014, former Pres­ident Goodluck Jonathan awarded the contract for the Coastal Railway project La­gos-Sagamu-Ijebu Ode-Benin City-Sapele-Warri- Yenogoa (with a siding to Otuoke)- Port Harcourt-Asaba-Uyo-Cal­abar with additional section from Benin City-Abudu-Ag­bor-Uka-Ogwashukwu-Asa­ba- Onitsha including Onitsha Railway Bridge was awarded to CCECC at a contract sum of $11.974 billion, Amaechi said.
The minister explained that it was in realisation of the fact that rail projects awarded by the previous governments did not cover all the geopolit­ical zones in the country that the government approved an estimated $16.6 billion as well as directed the Ministry of Fi­nance to source for financiers to accommodate the rail pro­jects in the South East and the initiation of same in the North East zone of the country
He continued: “Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and then President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan had awarded these contracts and applied for the loans. What we are doing now is to implement.”
According to him, “the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri rail line covers Aba-Umuahia-Enugu (with a branch line to Abakiliki)-Markudi-Lafia-Kuru -Bauchi- Gombe-Biu- (with a branch line to Yobe and Damaturu)-Maiduguri line.
“The Coastal Rail Line al­ready has its route alignment passing through Aba in Abia State and Onitsha in Anam­bra State, both of which are in the South East geopolitical zone. So, I do not know where the information that the South East states are excluded in the rail projects is coming from,” Amaechi said.
There was a heated argu­ment between the Minister and Senator Enyinnaya Abar­ibe, (PDP Abia South), the leader of the South East Sen­ate Caucus, who insisted that the loan would not be consid­ered except all regions were in­cluded in the project.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Lo­cal and Foreign Debts, Sena­tor Shehu Sani, told the min­ister that he was summoned to explain the technical details of the rail line projects which the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun could not pro­vide answers to, as well as ex­plain the non-inclusion of the South East zone.
Sani said the minister’s provision of a convincing ex­planation would assist the Sen­ate to take decision on wheth­er to approve the loan request.