The Honourable Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, on Monday expressed dissatisfaction with the slow pace at which the Agege sub-station of the rail project progressed.
Speaking with newsmen during inspection of the rail project at Omi-Adio station in Ibadan, the minister told officials of the China Civil Engineering Construction Company, CCECC and the American consultant firm, TEAM that he was not pleased with the pace at which the work went.
Amaechi told the contractors of the federal government’s insistence on the January 2021 deadline for completion of the project.
He said he would be returning for inspection on December 20 to find out how far the contractors would have gone on the project.
He urged the contractors to engage more hands so that the project could be completed as scheduled.
His words, “On all other projects, including Ibadan-Kano and due to the slow pace of work on the Lagos -Ibadan, we have said that we will not commence work on any other contract until we have a comprehensive programme of work so that we see when you start, when you finish and the facilities that you need.”
Amaechi also made clarifications concerning some speculations that the ministry wanted a fresh loan of $650 million to complete the Warri-Itakpe and Lagos-Ibadan rail projects.
He said: “I read somewhere that we are looking for additional $650 million for the expansion works on the Lagos-Ibadan and Itakpe-Warri corridors. This is not true.
“We said we would be needing $1.6 billion and that was long ago. The money has since been approved. It is not as if we are looking for additional funds for this projects. It is important that I clarify that.”
