ITAKPE- WARRI RAILWAY: FGN Contemplating Virtual Commissioning, Says Amaechi
Oru Leonard
The Honourable Minister for Transportation in Nigeria, Rt. Hon Rotimi Chobuike Amaechi, has said that the President Muhammadu Buhari may carry out a virtual commissioning of Itakpe – Warri railway line and its facilities.
The Minister said this in an interview with correspondents during an inspection tour to ascertain the level of work done along the Itakpe- Agenebode- Uromi- Agbor-Warri axis of the rail line and stations.
According to Amaechi, “It is the duty of the Ministry to convince the Presidency that we are ready for Commissioning, I won’t Commission, it is the President that will Commission but we are thinking about virtual commissioning.”
He said that the Chinese Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC), maintaining skeletal presence, with the supervision of the Director rail, will leave any time NRC/Ministry is ready to do the final inspection and take over.
On time line of other rail projects, the Minister said it is difficult to state time lines for completion of projects this period, but that he will seek the President’s position on continuation work on project sites.
“It is difficult to deal with time lines now, we were determined to complete Lagos-Ibadan by May I, 2020. I don’t know when we will start Lagos- Kano but when we start, we will be requiring more than 10,000 workers, Kaduna-Kano 10,000 workers, Ilorin to Ibadan 10,000 workers how can we do that when we are trying to maintain social distancing. If you can’t get that number and you get 1000 workers you will be reduced by 90% then we are in trouble.
“But I want to take the position of the president that the fact that there is COVID-19 does not mean we can’t work, in fact that’s one reason you see me here today. If there is one man who is scared of COVID-19, I am but then I also have to do my work as Minister of Transportation”, he said.
