Construction work on the Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge rail has been suspended over right of way issues and a flyover bridge at Ijoko, Ogun State.
The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, gave the indication on Monday, saying the height of the bridge would have to be raised for future electrification of the rail line.
The flyover bridge, being constructed by the Ogun State Government as part of the Sango-Ijoko-Berger road project, is over 90 per cent completed.
Amaechi, who spoke with journalists along with Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State at the Ijoko Railway Station, the site of the flyover bridge, said the bridge and the right of way issues would have to be addressed before actual construction work could commence on the modern rail line.
The minister also met with the contractor handling the railway project, the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, in Lagos on the level of work done thus far.
He said, “Today, we came to the conclusion that they (CCECC) have not commenced serious work and this is because of the problems they are having on the right of way.
“One of the problems is the height of the flyover, which Ogun State is building. We need to increase the current height from 4.8 metres to 6.5 metres, because we may want to use electricity to power the engine (in future).”
Amaechi stated that the engineers would meet on the issue from Monday to Wednesday with a view to proffering solutions to the problem.
The Federal Government had earlier said that by the end of 2018, the new rail line should be running. The plan is to connect it to the recently inaugurated Abuja-Kaduna rail and take the double line to Kano.
Amosun, in his reaction, commended the Federal Government for promptly responding to the right of way issue and showing commitment to efforts to resolve it.
He urged the contractor to speed up work on the rail project in order to ease the pressure on the road, adding that the state government’s construction of the flyover bridge was meant to complement the project.
The governor stated, “The gap that we left for this bridge is not enough, that’s why they advised that we should stop this bridge now. Thank God we have resolved this; there are several options, several engineering solutions; that’s why we have to commend the Minister of Transportation. He is here with all the consultants and the contractors doing the rail.
“It is going to be in our interest if this rail is fixed; not only Ogun State’s interest, but Nigerians’ interest. All the economies of Nigeria depend to a considerable extent on this axis, moving from Lagos to Ibadan, to the North, even the one going to the East.
“On our part as a state, we will do our bit. We are going to complement their efforts and that’s why we are doing this bridge, which should have been done by the Federal Government. Those grey areas, engineering details, we are going to fine-tune them.”
