FG to begin new Kano-Kaduna rail construction in July

• New line to link Abuja-Kaduna railway

The Federal Government will commence the construction of Kano-Kaduna rail line in July, Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has said.

According to him, the new standard gauge rail will be linked with the already running Abuja-Kaduna rail line and eventually connect a new line coming from Lagos-Ibadan being constructed by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation.

The minister said this when he led a delegation of Nigerian Shippers’ Council and Nigeriam Railway Corporation on a courtesy visit to the Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, in Kano.

Amaechi said the rail line and the Inland Dry Port would boost business activities of the state and encourage import and export activities.

He said, “We are here because we want to see how far you have gone with the Dala Inland Dry Port because between now and July, we would start work on the Kano-Kaduna part of the rail.

“We will link the Kano rail to Kaduna and link Ibadan to Abuja, then we would address the problem of cargoes.

“We have to learn how to manage cargoes that come to Kano, like you know, we are also linking Kano-Maradi, so Kano will be the hub for the railway sector with a major station in Kano, it will be able to control the volume of human traffic in Kano.”

He also said, “Kano is important to Nigeria; Kano is also important to the railway sector and we are trying to see how to bring Maritime into Kano. It is important to note that the Nigerian Shippers’ Council North-West Zonal Office is located at Kano because of the economic importance.

“We believe that the government has the capacity to protect those projects and respond to the needs of the users.”

Kano State Governor, Ganduje, said said the dry port and the rail line would boost the economy of the state, adding that the volume of import and export in the state was high because of the population of the state.

Ganduje said, “With the international airport in Kano and the businesses happening with other neighbouring countries, the dry port and the rail line will boost the economy of the state.”