The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has restated the Ministry’s commitment to ensuring safe, efficient, affordable and seamless multimodal transport system in line with global best practices.
Amaechi expressed the commitment at the annual ministerial news briefing on landmark programmes, projects and activities of the ministry and its agencies on Friday in Abuja.
He said in a bid to ensure safe, secure, reliable, efficient, affordable, intermodal and environmentally sustainable road transport for all, the Ministry embarked on developing a National Road Transport Policy.
According to him, the policy is to address the challenges faced on the roads.
On the rail sub-sector, the Minister noted that the Nigerian Railway Corporation is about 123 years old (1898-2021) and within this period has built 3,505 kilometres of narrow gauge rail lines.
Other lines built were 186 kilometres network of Standard Gauge rail lines linking Abuja to Rigasa in Kaduna State; 302 kilometres network of SG rail lines from Itakpe, Kogi State to Warri, Delta State.
Amaechi further said the Ministry also plans to build other Standard Gauge Routes as follows: Ibadan to Kano, Kano to Kazaure-Daura-Kastsina-Jibiya to link Maradi in Niger Republic.
“Others are Port Harcourt – Aba – Enugu – Makurdi – Jos – Bauchi – Gombe – Maiduguri, starting with the Narrow – Gauge rehabilitation and the groundbreaking was recently conducted in Port Harcourt; Lagos-Ijebu-Ode –Benin –Yenegoa – PortHarcourt – Aba– Uyo – Calabar with feasibility study carried out waiting for funds,” he added.
The Minister, therefore, called for collaboration among stakeholders, saying that no nation has been able to grow to achieve its potential without an efficient and effective transportation system in place.