FG set to seal $11bn loan agreement for Lagos-Calabar rail

The Federal Government is set to seal a loan agreement to signal the construction of Lagos-Calabar rail line, Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has said.

He also said construction work would start on the new rail line before the end of this year.

Nigeria has been in talks with EXIM Bank of China for the $11bn loan for the project

The line, stretching 1,400km, is expected to the handled by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation.

Amaechi spoke on Friday in Calabar while delivering the 34th Convocation Lecture of the University of Calabar, whose title was given as ‘The National Question and the Challenges of Nationhood in Nigeria’.

The minister said, “In a few weeks from now, we are going to sign the loan agreement for the commencement of that project and before the end of the year, contractors will move to site.

 “The President Buhari administration has embarked on railway construction and rehabilitation from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri, from Ibadan to Kano and from Abuja to Kauran Namoda among others.

“We are also renewing the Lord Lugard railway line that has been out of effective service for decades.”

Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calabar, Prof. Florence Obi, said that the university was poised to promoting academic excellence, adding that its critical infrastructural facilities were destroyed during the #EndSARS protest on October 24, 2020.

According to her, the male and female hostels, the Academic Publishing Centre, the University of Calabar Hotel and other centres on campus were destroyed during the protest.

She recalled when she assumed office as the 11th vice-chancellor of the institution on December 1, 2020, she took a comprehensive repair of the hostel with a view to providing comfortable accommodation for students.

The VC thanked the minister for accepting to deliver the convocation lecture.