Okonjo-Iweala lauds Nigeria’s rail projects

The Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on Thursday commended the progress made so far in the construction of the Federal Capital Territory’ s rail projects.
Okonjo-Iweala made the commendation when she inspected the project sites of Abuja terminal expansion at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport. Abuja.
The minister expressed satisfaction with the level of work done so far on the light rail in Idu and the Abuja-Kaduna rail project.
According to her, the Federal Government is looking forward to a terminal similar to those found outside the country, which Nigerians would be proud of.
“My impression on the progress is very good, the work is going on well and the terminal is 30 per cent completed.
“I am quite excited as you can see, because what I saw up there is quite impressive. The quality seems solid and the design looks good.
“The Federal Government took a loan of $500 million from the NEXIM Bank of the Chinese Government to construct modern terminals in the country.
“We have four terminals that are going to be financed from this money, they include Abuja, Lagos, Kano and Port-Harcourt,’’ she said.
On the light rail, the minister said, “They have explained to me how they will be working on phases for the project and, God-willing, by May next year we will be riding on it.
The Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Gu Xiaojie, said the Chinese government was committed to the partnership and that the China Civil Engineering and Construction Company was also committed to completing the project.
“Best quality is ensured for the project and CCECC is also undertaking the project and are undergoing training programme and employing local force for the project.
“It is a very good project and the Nigerian government is making very good use of the Chinese loans. I think, from what I have seen, it is going on very well, they are constructing according to the standard and I think we will finish this on ,” Xiaojie said.