FG approves $3 billion Port Harcourt-Maiduguri railway and $462 million Bonny deep seaport

The Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi has announced that the FG has approved rehabilitation and reconstruction of the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri Railway for the sum of $3.02 billion.

The Minister disclosed this to reporters after the 18^th virtual meeting of the Federal Executive Council on Wednesday.

Nairametrics reported last week that Amaechi said the $1.9billion Kano-Niger rail would enable Nigeria to service landlocked West African nations through the movement of cargoes to Lagos and also make Nigeria compete with other coastal West African nations.

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In today’s statement, he said, “The Federal Executive Council today, approved the award of contract for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the Port Harcourt to Maiduguri Eastern Narrow Gauge Railway, with new branch lines and trans-shipment facilities. It also approved the construction of a deep seaport in Bonny under PPP and construction of a railway industrial park in Port Harcourt. The railway line will be at the cost of $3,020,279,549. The industrial park, which is under PPP, at no cost to federal government, will cost $241,154,389.31. The Bonny deep seaport will cost $461,924,369, at no cost to the federal government.”

The reconstructed rail will have new lines from Bonny to Port Harcourt and Port Harcourt to Owerri.

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“The Port Harcourt to Maiduguri narrow gauge railway will have new branch lines; from Port Harcourt to Bonny and from Port Harcourt to Owerri. There is another connecting to narrow gauge to standard guage at Kafanchan. There is a branch line from Gombe or before Maiduguri to Damaturu and Gashua. That’s what has been approved,’’ the Minister added.