How Ongoing Rail, Road Projects will Transform Northern Nigeria – FG
The Federal Government has said it is building a prosperous future for the northern part of the country with a long list of transformative projects that will change lives and stand the test of generations.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Monday, Director of Rail Development in the Ministry of Transportation, Sir James Zirra, said the government is making significant progress in revitalising the railway sector to ease pressure on roads and improve economic productivity in the North.
The press conference was moderated by Presidential spokesmen, Mr. Bayo Onanuga and Mr. Tunde Rahman.
He noted that the Abuja–Kaduna rail line has been completed, while work is ongoing to extend the corridor to Kano, with sections expected to be delivered soon.
He said the $2bn standard gauge rail project linking Kano to Maradi in Niger Republic, including a Kano–Dutse branch line, is now 60 per cent completed.
According to him, the rail modernisation programme is guided by a national master plan focused on rehabilitating existing infrastructure, expanding capacity, and ensuring long-term sustainability.
On the Lagos-Kano standard gauge corridor, which he described as the backbone of the national rail network under construction, Zirra said the Abuja-Kaduna segment was operational, the Lagos-Ibadan segment was in service, and the Kaduna-Kano segment was at advanced completion.
“The part to Kano has been completed,” he confirmed, adding that the link from Kaduna to Abuja was expected to be operational by the end of the year.
The Kano-Katsina-Maradi extension, approximately 400 kilometres of new standard gauge rail stretching from Kano through Katsina to Jibia before crossing 40 kilometres into Niger Republic, is the single largest ongoing rail investment in the North.
Zirra revealed that the completion was at 60 per cent, with the earthworks, the most labour-intensive phase, substantially underway.
He said once the earthworks were accomplished, mechanised laying would accelerate progress significantly.
“A branch line from Kano to Dutse, covering approximately 100 kilometres, is also under construction as part of the same package.
“The total length of this package is about 400 kilometres, and work is progressing. By the end of the year, Kano to Katsina is expected to be completed,” Zirra added.
Zirra noted that Kano state is of strategic importance to the entire rail programme because upon completion, the city will serve as a multi-modal hub where four separate rail lines converge. They include the Lagos-Kano main line, the Kano-Maradi international line, the Kano-Katsina branch and the Kano-Dutse line.
He said Kano station, when finished, would be the largest in the country by design and function.
“One movement of a fully loaded train will take approximately 30 trucks off the road. If we are able to do that consistently, the impact on road maintenance, logistics costs and the cost of goods will be enormous. The multiplier effect of a functional rail corridor is felt in every other sector.”
He said a high-speed rail programme, privately funded at an estimated N200bn, is also in the proposal pipeline and will cover Lagos-Kano, and a separate Lagos-Port Harcourt route.
He however added that the government is not abandoning the roads, saying work is ongoing on the Sokoto–Badagry Super Highway and the Abuja–Kaduna–Zaria–Kano expressway.
He informed journalists that the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) gas pipeline project is 95 percent completed and is expected to boost industrial growth in northern Nigeria by improving access to gas.
By TimesNG