The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, said on Friday the Federal Government would explore an alternative funding mechanism to modernise the country’s rail system in line with its 25-year Strategy Vision.
The minister stated this during the 2021 Annual Public Lecture organised by the Department of Economics, Faculty of Social Science, University of Lagos, Akoka.
He said the federal government had recovered most of the failed locations on the Narrow Gauge corridor and also taking precautions in the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report on the standard gauge corridors.
Amaechi said: “All the new contracts for railway projects were embedded with rich technology transfer clauses, capacity building and Conversational Skills Rating (CSRs) domestic appropriate knowledge and skill.
The establishment of rail projects was to reduce the cost of transportation and boost the economy since economic activity drives development in any country.
“All the regions in the country would have been connected with rail transportation but for lack of sustainable funding plan, environmental issues, degenerated infrastructure, theft of railway materials and obsolete legal framework.”
The minister appealed to community leaders and civil society organisations to join in the fight against vandalisation of railway infrastructure across the country.
