Nigeria to produce 500 rail wagons annually from Kajola plant – Buhari

Kajola wagon plant to produce 500 units annually – Buhari

Nigeria on Monday made history as its completed rail wagon assembly plant, first in West Africa, was inaugurated at Kajola, Ogun State.

President Muhammadu Buhari said the assembly plant would annually produce 500 open rail wagons, container flat wagons and box wagons.

Buhari, who was represented by the Minister of Transportation, Muazu Sambo, said that out of 368 various types of wagons needed and awarded to China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), about 220 wagons of the existing rolling stock procurement contract would be produced at the Kajola plant pending when the plant would be transformed to full wagon manufacturing plant.

He said, “The establishment of the Kajola Assembly Plant was a Corporate Social Responsibility by Messrs CCECC Nigeria Limited in the Lagos-Ibadan Railway Modernization Project being a section of the Lagos-Kano Railway Modernization Project.

“With my approval, the ministry signed an agreement in March 2018 with Messrs. CCECC as Direct Foreign Investment (DFI) by the company in compliance with Presidential Order No. 5 to promote companies’ involvement in infrastructure development and transfer of technology to Nigeria.

“Expectedly, the Federal Government is to facilitate the establishment of the plant by providing an enabling environment and necessary support in terms of tax waivers, utilities (power and water supply), access road and rail sidings etc. This responsibility was carried out meticulously by the Nigerian government.

“The groundbreaking ceremony of the Wagon Assembly Plant as you may wish to note was performed by the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo GCON, on November 8, 2019.

“The Wagon Assembly Plant is now completed and has a locomotive and rolling depot, having the capacity to produce 500 Wagons per year of open wagons, container flat wagons and box wagons.”

“Out of 368 various types of wagons needed and awarded to Messrs. CCECC, about 220 wagons of the existing rolling stock procurement contract are to be produced at the Kajola Plant pending when the plant would be transformed into a full wagon manufacturing plant.”

The President also spoke on the establishment of the first University of Transportation in Nigeria in Daura, Katsina State, as the second CSR project of the CCECC in the country.

“The intention of this university is to ensure adequate turnout of graduates, technicians, artisan and researchers in different areas of transportation, especially railway transportation, to guarantee the sustainability of the massive infrastructural provision of this administration on rail transportation,” President Buhari said.

Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation, Engr. Fidet Okhiria, said the plant would serve as a home facility for replacement of faulty wagons instead of sourcing them overseas.

Okhiria said some wagons had been delivered to NRC which passed the trial stage and were certified for usage.

Hon. Tajudeen Obasa, representing Ojo Federal Constituency, who read a joint message by the Committee on Land Transportation, said the Kajola Plant was another “promise made, and promise kept by the Buhari administration.”