FG to fund Ibadan-Kano Rail Line with $6 billion China-EXIM Bank Loan
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The Federal Government has said that the Lagos-Ibadan Rail project would be funded with a $6 billion China-EXIM Bank loan.
The Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi who stated this recently at an interactive session with journalists in Abuja, explained that Nigeria was currently negotiating a loan of about $6 billion with the China Exim Bank for the construction of the Ibadan-Kano rail line project.
He however, pointed out that the decision to embark on the contract agreement was a difficult one because it was actually $8 billion that was required to do a double track Rail line from Ibadan to Kano but the Bank said that it could not fund double track, and asked Nigerian Government to do a single track from Minna to Abuja and then join Abuja to Kaduna.
He said: "we are currently in negotiations with the China Exim Bank to get about $6bn for the construction of rail lines from Ibadan to Kano. It is a difficult decision. Why is it difficult? The money required is about $8bn to do a double track but the Chinese are insisting that they can’t fund the double track”.
The Minister further stated that the Federal Government had made appreciable effort towards checking the insecurity on our waterways, disclosing that the sum of $195 million had been approved to this effect.
He expressed confidence that this measure by the present Administration of President Muhammadu Buhari would help reduce crime in the maritime sector.
He said: "the Federal Government has approved the sum of $195 million to hire an Israeli company to train our security personnel to help man our water ways.
"Currently, there are criminal activities going on in our waterways in some parts of the country, and consequently, people are charging what they call war insurance. War insurance means that you go to an area where there seems to be war but you know that there is no war there. But in such areas criminal activities are taking place in the waterways. So with this approval and when we have put the processes in place, we will ensure that there is security on our waterways.”
Muhammad Idris
DD (PPR)
September 19, 2018.