Abuja Light Rail Project Employs 10,000 Nigerians, Minister Told During Project Inspection

About 10,000 Nigerians were employed during the construction of the
Abuja Light Rail Project, which was recently commissioned by President
Muhammadu Buhari, while 100,000 more will be directly or indirectly
employed when the project begins full operation.

The Chief Resident Engineer for the Abuja Light Rail Project, Mr.
Anthony Agbakoba, disclosed this on Thursday while briefing the
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who took
journalists on a tour of the project, which is now being test-run.

Mr. Agbakoba said that in addition, 68 highly-skilled personnel have
been trained in Malaysia and China on Railway Operations and
Management in order to build the required technical capacity needed to
run such a modern rail system.

“FCTA (Federal Capital Territory Administration) and Nigeria now have
capacity to supervise similar railway construction projects from start
to completion within 3 to 4 years of conception,” he said.

While conducting the Minister and his team round the train stations,
the Secretary of Transportation in the FCTA, Mr. Kayode Opeifa, said
the present administration inherited the Abuja Light Project at 53%
completion stage and delivered the project within 18 months.

He said the project is the first integrated mode of Transportation in
Africa that connects the railways and the airport in order to ensure
seamless movement of passengers.

Mr. Opeifa said a desk will be assigned to the Federal Ministry of
Information and Culture at the Airport Station to showcase the
nation’s rich cultural heritage and tourism attraction, adding that
the station itself is a tourist attraction.

He said although the Abuja Light Rail is currently on a test run with
3 coaches, contract for the construction and supply of 48 additional
coaches has been awarded, with the coaches expected to be delivered in
batches.

In his remarks, The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai
Mohammed, said the Buhari Administration is building a legacy of
enduring infrastructure for posterity.

“This administration is not looking for quick fixes because quick
fixes don’t work. We are laying a foundation for an enduring
infrastructural development. We are painstaking and very transparent
and we remain focused and committed,” he said.

Alhaji Mohammed expressed the confidence that Nigeria possesses the
required technical competence to manage the Light Rail Project and
turn it into a huge success.

“Some of the key personnel, who have worked in virtually major rail
companies in the world, are actually anchoring the programme. Some of
them have been trained in the best schools in the world for
transportation and so we are confident of the expertise and experience
of the personnel that are handling the light rail and the regional
rail,” he said.

The Minister said the level of successes being recorded by the present
administration, in its key priority areas, has left the opposition in
shock, hence their resort to fake news and hate speech.

The 45.2-kilometre Light Rail Project, which is divided into six lots,
comprises 12 stations, 50 culverts, 13 railway bridges, 9 pedestrian
bridges, 15 flyovers, and a 21-building Rolling Stock Depot.

Since kick-starting the nationwide tour of Federal Government projects
in May 2018, the Minister has inspected eight Federal Government
projects, including the Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge Rail Line,
Lagos-Ibadan, Oyo-Ogbomoso and Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressways, and
the Second Niger Bridge.