Nigeria gets $350m AfDB facility for Kano-Maradi rail project

The Federal Government of Nigeria has secured $350 million from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to fund the construction of the Kano-Maradi rail project, which will connect Kano to Maradi in Niger Republic.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Land Transport, Senator Adamu Aliero, made this disclosure on Monday during an oversight visit to the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) headquarters in Lagos, as reported by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

Aliero stated that the Kano-Maradi rail project is part of the government’s broader efforts to modernize Nigeria’s railway network and enhance regional trade links.

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“The Chairman, Senate Committee on Land Transport, Sen. Adamu Aliero,  says the African Development Bank has released $350 million to the Federal Government for construction of a rail line from Kano to Maradi,” the NAN report read in part.

He also highlighted that President Bola Tinubu’s recent visit to China focused on finalizing negotiations for 85% of the financing needed to upgrade and rehabilitate the nation’s rail infrastructure.

Aliero disclosed that the supplementary budget recently passed by the National Assembly allocated over N530 billion as counterpart funding for these modernization efforts. The remaining 85% of the funds will be sourced from institutions such as China Exim Bank, the International Finance Corporation, and AfDB.

Nigeria gets $350m AfDB facility for Kano-Maradi rail project

Lagos Blue Rail: LAMATA speaks on fire incident 

The Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) has reacted to a fire incident affecting a section of the Blue Rail Line that occurred in the Apangbon area of the state on Saturday.

A statement issued by the Head of Corporate Communication at LAMATA, Kolawole Ojelabi, attributed the incident to a spark, leading to a disruption in the passengers operations of the line.

The statement read, “The Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) is aware of a spark, inducing fire, at a section of the Lagos Rail Mass Transit (LRMT) near the old NEPA station by Eko Bridge around Apongbon area of Lagos Island.

“As a result, passenger operations of the Blue Line were disrupted.

“Following the spark, the system isolated the section for investigators and engineers from the Independent Power Plant powering the train to trace the source of the fire.

“The Closed-Circuit camera along the section promptly alerted emergency staff who triggered the emergency response process.

“No passengers on the train and workers were in danger following the fire incident.

“Engineers are working profusely to replace the burnt cables, and it is projected that train operation will resume Sunday morning.

“LAMATA is committed to ensuring the safe operation of the Blue Line, the first rail system to be powered by electricity in West Africa.”

Fire guts part of Lagos Blue Rail Line

There was a fire outbreak on Saturday that affected a section of the Lagos Blue Line rail track near the NEPA Station in the Apogbon area of Lagos State.

Gboyega Akosile, Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, confirmed the incident via his X handle.

The fire, which occurred at 4:12pm, did not result in any casualties, and no trains were in operation when the outbreak occurred.

Akosile further disclosed that emergency responders promptly extinguished the fire and put the situation under control.

The statement read in part, “No casualty is reported and no train service at the time of the incident.

“A team of safety and emergency personnel and other first responders had completely put out the fire.

“Lagosians in that axis can go about their business peacefully as the situation under control.

“Kindly await further details on operations of the train from @Lamataonline.”