The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, has identified attacks by armed robbery and weather vagaries as among factors delaying the completion of the Lagos-Ibadan rail project.
The $1.7 billion project was due for completion this month but this has now been shifted to February next year.
The minister said all hands were on deck to ensure that the trains run on the tracks at least from Lagos to Abeokuta by February.
He said, “I have just been informed by the contractor that they are facing serious security challenges from armed robbers, who steal their property. I have directed that they tackle that. This is what we have not been experiencing at the Abeokuta to Ibadan end of the project. This obviously also compounds the problem and slows down the pace of work.
“What we agreed on at this meeting is that by February, we must have a train service that makes transport sense. We would ensure that we have a situation where people can board our train from Lagos to Ibadan.”
Armed robbers, weather delaying work on Lagos-Ibadan rail project – Amaechi
