Buhari to launch Kano-Kaduna rail project in few weeks, says Amaechi. Agency Report

Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has revealed that the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) will launch the construction of Kano -Kaduna rail project in the next few weeks. Amaechi disclosed this on Friday while speaking at the weekly Presidential Media briefing organised by the State House Media Unit in Abuja. He said that all contracts for the projects had been awarded as the loan for the project was not forthcoming from China as earlier planned. He said, “In the next two weeks, we should be launching and commencing immediately the construction of Kano-Kaduna rail project. “The president will be launching it and then we will commence construction immediately. “The reason why we are commencing construction immediately is that all the necessary contracts have been awarded. FG’ll fund one-third of Kano-Kaduna rail project – Amaechi “We have been waiting for the loan for too long from China and the money has not come. “So, we decided to fund it from the budget. We already paid 218million dollars to them and we are about to pay another 100million dollars to make it about 318million dollars. “Kano-Kaduna is about 1.2billion dollars – the moment you pay about 318million dollars, you must have paid one-third of the project. “So, we believe that by the time we get the loan we must have funded up to 600million dollars. “So, that should be able to take the project nearly halfway before the fund will come because if we continue to wait for the loan whether, from China or Europe, we may likely not complete it before we go.” (NAN)