The Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaech, has said the need for new approvals is responsible for the slow pace of work on the new Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge railway line.
Amaechi said this on Friday evening while briefing journalists after the inspection of the project.
He inspected the project in company with the Managing Director, Nigerian Railway Corporation, Mr Fidet Okhiria and Chairman, Board of Directors, NRC, Malam Ibrahim Al-Hassan-Musa.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the inspection was coming barely 48 hours after the inauguration of the new Federal Executive Council by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Amaechi commenced the inspection at 8:50 a.m. at Costain in Lagos State where a bridge is being constructed and later moved to inspect the Overpass at Asade level crossing at Agege, also in Lagos.
The minister also inspected construction works at the 10 stations along the 156-kilometre rail line corridor which included Apapa, Kajola, Papalanto, Abeokuta and Omi Adio, among others.
Amaechi, however, expressed dissatisfaction with the level of work done in most of the sites visited and advised the contractor, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, to speed up work on the project before his next visit on September 23.
The minister said that the slow pace of work was too visible at the Lagos end of the project, saying it was due to lack of approval for extra works that needed to be done.
“They (contractors) cannot commence work until they get those approvals. We will go to the cabinet quickly and get those approvals so that they can continue with their construction,” he said.
He also cited delays in payment as another reason for the slow pace of work, saying that the contractors were waiting for a minister to approve their payments.
“Our appeal is that they should please hurry up and get into the seaports so that we can evacuate the goods at the seaports. We should at least be able to reduce what people refer to as Apapa gridlock.”
The minister denied giving December as the deadline to deliver the project, saying that he only wished that the project would be completed by December 2019. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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