Abuja-Kaduna rail should not stop

News filtered in last week that the multi-billion naira Abuja-Kaduna rail line project, which has already made considerable progress and is nearing completion, may not be completed any time soon. The N170 billion project was awarded to the Chinese construction firm China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) for the construction of 186km standard gauge rail […]

News filtered in last week that the multi-billion naira Abuja-Kaduna rail line project, which has already made considerable progress and is nearing completion, may not be completed any time soon. The N170 billion project was awarded to the Chinese construction firm China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) for the construction of 186km standard gauge rail line from Abuja to Kaduna. It was to be completed in 46 months but even though CCECC missed the December 2014 deadline, the project attained 80 per cent completion.
Last week, an official of CCECC said the project was facing fresh hurdles as the naira’s sharp slide against foreign currencies has affected the company’s ability to meet the expected deadline. The Jonathan administration had secured a $900 million facility from China’s Export and Import Bank through the Federal Ministry of Transportation to finance this  project. The credit facility stipulated that the loan would be released in tranches by way of shipment of hardware such as steel rail tracks, structural equipment, earth movers, concrete bridges, Chinese trucks, concrete sleepers and precast T-beams for the laying of rail tracks covering 187 kilometres.
Under the agreement, the federal government is expected to provide modern railway engines, cabins of various categories, personnel and to secure frequency band for communications.
Other reasons advanced for the slow progress of work include weak monitoring by the Federal Ministry of Transport which has the duty to ensure timely completion, as well as delay on the part of the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) to approve a designated frequency band wave for signal and communication purposes between engine drivers and ground stations.
Minister of Transportation Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi had pledged when he assumed duty late last year that he will convene a meeting of all parties to the agreement to ensure the project’s early completion. The challenges facing it are not new. It has become common place especially after a change of government to see projects and programs started by preceding governments being jettisoned but this project is too dear to be abandoned considering its potential socio-economic benefits to a whole region of the country including Abuja. Fluctuating naira exchange rate is a general problem these days but considering the vital nature of this project, it is expected that CCECC should have access to dollars at official rates without recourse to the parallel market. President Buhari has said that the country’s depleted dollar reserves are for priority matters and this project is clearly one of them.
This is not the first time that contractors have failed to deliver on important rail projects in this country. In 2006 President Olusegun Obasanjo signed a contract with CCECC to modernise the Lagos to Kano rail line. That was the first phase of the proposed 3-phase rail line upgrade. The project was divided into five sections namely Lagos-Ibadan (181km), Ibadan-Ilorin (200km), Ilorin-Minna (270km), Minna-Abuja-Kaduna (360km) and Kaduna-Kano (305km). Though   construction work started, the project was suspended in 2008 following a contractual dispute. The federal government again signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Guangdong Xinguang International Group to construct a revolutionary “fast” rail (RFR) system from Lagos to Abuja as well as light rail lines from Lagos city to Murtala Mohammed International Airport and from Abuja city centre to Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport. $2 billion was earmarked to start the projects but nothing was heard of them since then.
President Buhari seems set to change the situation considering his recent meetings during the Afro-China Summit in South Africa where he discussed modalities for the coastal railway project stretching 1402 kilometers from Lagos to Calabar, a project that is expected to be financed with a $12 billion Chinese loan. He also renegotiated the stalled $8.3bn Lagos-Kano standard gauge modernization project. The Abuja-Kaduna rail project is a key national project and having come this far, it will be a national disgrace to let it fail. Immediate steps should be taken to complete and commission it.