24th September, 2014
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Bala Mohammed, has said that the ongoing Abuja Light Rail project traversing the Central Business District to Kubwa will be completed by October 2015.
Mohammed disclosed this in Abuja on Wednesday during the signing of Memoranda of Understand (MoU) with China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) on the Addendum II of the rail project.
According to him, the Addendum II consists of final design and construction of Lot 1B of the Abuja Light Rail Project.
The minister said it was expected to take care of Garki I District, Wuse I and II districts, Utako and some districts in Phases II and III of the city.
“The ongoing Lots IA and 3 will cover a distance of 45.245km, while Lot 1B whose MoU was signed is about 31km, crisscrossing the FCT.”
Mohammed said the Lot 1B was expected to cost 792 million dollars. “The process has not been completed because it has to go to the Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP) for vetting as well as the Federal Executive Council.”
FCT Transportation Secretary, Mr Jonathan Ivoke, said the project was very significant to the overall development of the FCT because every modern city needed an effective transportation network.
Also, the Managing Director, CCECC, Mr Cao Baogong, said the company would ensure that the light rail was the best in Africa.
Baogong said the company had executed up to 50 per cent of the phrase one project and promised that it would be ready by October, 2015.
He assured the minister that his company would unfailingly deliver the Lots 1A and 3 of the ongoing rail project by October 2015.