By Ismail Auwal
The Federal Government said that it is waiting the approval and disbursement of Chinese Government $5.3bn loan to commence the construction of Ibadan to Kano rail line.
The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, on Saturday said the Federal Government had given approval for the contract but awaits the disbursement of the loan.
The Minister, in a statement, said, “We are waiting for the Chinese government and bank to approve the $5.3bn to construct the Ibadan-Kano. What was approved a year ago was the contract.
“The moment I announced that the Federal Government had awarded a contract of $5.3bn to CCECC (China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation) to construct the Ibadan-Kano railway, people assumed the money had come in; no.”
Amechi who spoke through his media aide, Taiye Edeni, added that, “We have not got the money, which is a year after we applied for the loan. We have almost finished that of Lagos-Ibadan. If we don’t get the loan now, we can’t commence.”
He added that, the Ibadan-Kano rail line would link over six strategic cities in Nigeria, which includes Ibada, Osogbo, Ilorin, Minna., Abuja, Kaduna, and Kano, adding that cargoes could be moved to Kano from Lagos on the railway
