FG approves $3.9b for Warri seaport

The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, said the Federal Government has approved the construction for Warri seaport at the cost of about $3.9 billion and also awarded contract for Abuja-Warri rail line.
Amaechi told the News Agency of Nigeria on Tuesday in Abuja that government also approved the linking of Abuja to Itakpe, Itakpe-Warri, then from Warri to the seaport.
He said: “The President awarded the contract for Abuja to Warri, Abuja to Itakpe, then to Warri.
“From Warri rail to the seaport.
“We are building a new seaport in Warri, the cabinet approved it last week, that is about $3.9 billion.”
Amaechi however said about $45 billion was needed to complete rail development in the country.
He said that once Lagos-Kano, Port Harcourt-Maduguri, Lagos-Calabar and Abuja-Warri rail lines were constructed, the rail would have covered the country.
According to him, government has spent about $3 billion so far on all the ongoing projects.
He said: “The Lagos-Ibadan will cost about $1.6 billion.
“That doesn’t include the extra cost of things we didn’t prepare for or see in the evaluation.
“Abuja-Kaduna was constructed with about $1 billion.
“We also paid $500 million to buy locomotives and rolling stocks for Lagos-Ibadan.
“I can’t remember how much we spent buying rolling stocks for Kaduna-Abuja.
“That is what we have spent so far.
“So all the noise that you hear people saying we have spent 8 point something billion dollars is not true.
“I don’t think we have spent up to $3 billion so far.
“Railway is capital intensive.
N1 trillion is about $2.7 billion.
“And that is for 200km of railway.
“If you plan to do Lagos-Ibadan and you are looking at $8.7 billion, that is between N3 trillion and N4 trillion.
“That is why I said we will need about $35 billion to $45 billion.
“To be able to do Lagos-Kano, Port Harcourt-Maduguri, Lagos-Calabar and Abuja-Warri, once we do this four tracks, we have covered the country and we have solved the problems of transportation to a great extend.”
NAN.