President Muhammadu Buhari, will on Thursday lay the foundation stone of the Kano-Abuja sector, of the Lagos-Kano railway modernization project.
The Lagos-Kano rail project is part of the 25-year vision approved by the Federal Government, for rail transportation in 2002.
The contract was signed on 30th October 2002 and assigned to a Chinese Company, China Civil Engineering Construction Company, CCECC.
On October 22, 2009, CCECC and the Federal Ministry of Transportation signed a supplementary agreement for the implementation of the Abuja-Kaduna segment, which was completed, commissioned, and put to use by the Muhammadu Buhari administration.
On the 28th of August 2012, the government again signed another supplementary agreement for the Lagos-Ibadan, the second segment of the corridor, for the construction of the double-track railway of 156.8 kilometers.
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In addition to this, the CCECC and the government of Nigeria then agreed on December 26, 2016, for the extension of this rail line to Apapa port, adding a distance of 8.57 kilometers.
The senior special assistant to the President on Media and publicity, Garba Shehu in a statement, said that the project is going to form an important part of the West African railway network.
It added that when completed, the line is expected to meet the demands for the development of the national economy, and it will open an efficient and convenient railway channel for import and export of goods in Nigeria and passenger exchange along the line.
Edited: Tunde Orebiyi.