The Minister of Transportation, Saidu Alkali, has assured that the first segment of Kano-Maradi rail project, the Kano-Daura section, will be completed by 2025.
Alkali made this announcement on Thursday at the Kazaure rail campsite in Jigawa during a media chat following an inspection tour of the ongoing Kano-Maradi and Kaduna-Kano rail projects.
The information was detailed in a statement by Muhammad Tahir Zakari, Assistant Director for Press and Public Relations at the Ministry of Transportation.
Accompanied by a team of engineers from the Nigeria Railway Corporation, project consultants, and contractors, Alkali noted significant progress has been made since his last visit to the project site.
He said that the contractors have started preparing the rail lines and sleepers and will use locomotives to transport materials along the rail line.
The statement further indicated that Saidu Alkali had earlier inspected the existing narrow gauge railway line connecting Lagos to Kano.
The Transportation Minister noted that upon completion and operationalization, the Lagos-Kano narrow gauge rail line would facilitate the optimal use of the Dala Inland Dry Port for transporting cargo by rail from Lagos to Kano, demonstrating the Federal Government’s efforts to facilitate trade in Nigeria.
Furthermore, the Minister stated that freight services on the Lagos-Kano rail line would begin next month, in June.