Lagos-Ibadan rail project: Will the train arrive in April?

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By Chris Paul Otaigbe

Three months to the April completion date of the multi billion Naira Lagos-Ibadan rail project, doubts are beginning to emerge that the much talked about and eagerly awaited modern rail service, expected to kickstart a trans Nigeria railways might not be delivered on schedule.

After yet another monthly inspection of the project being financed with funds from China and executed by Chinese contractors, officials from the Ministry of Transportation and the Nigerian Railway Corporation are secretly discussing the possibility of the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) not delivering the project on time.

Though cautiously optimistic that the 156-kilometer, $1.53 billion project would come on stream at the agreed time, Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi would not be drawn into specifics of timing now, in view of the current challenges facing the project as it extends, by six kilometers, from Ebute Meta, on Lagos mainland to the seaport in Apapa, Lagos Island.

Chairman of Nigerian Railway Corporation, Alhassan Ibrahim Musa was equally not specific on the completion date, even though optimistic 5nat the Chinese would deliver.

The fresh challenges arose after the government decided to extend the project to the seaport to facilitate transportation of goods containers from the port to the inter land by rail which will ultimately ease the pressure on the road, especially the seemingly never ending traffic gridlock on the Apapa-Oshodi-Oworonsoki expressway in Lagos.

The unintended extension (at project inception) of the rail line is having to contend with other infrastructures, like oil pipeline, which have to be relocated, before the project could progress. This, coupled with the difficulty in getting the imported materials for the project, stuck at the port, out to site, KaftanPost gathered, could also have telling effects on the date of completion.

The January 20, 2020 edition of the monthly ministerial inspection of the project was the first for the year and one in the many editions the Minister had embarked upon since the inception of the project execution.

Amaechi was joined on the tour by the Minister of State, Transportation

Gbemisola Saraki and Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde who was the main guest.

The first stop, was Apapa wharf where the two Ministers were able to assess the level of work on the Apapa-Ebute meta axis of the rail line. From Apapa, the train headed towards its normal inspection course to Ibadan. But first the team had to change trains from the Narrow to Standard Gauge. In other words, the one that took the inspection team to Apapa was not the one that took the entourage to Ibadan and vice versa.

After some inspections, KaftanPost decided to hear from a major actor in the project, the Chairman of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Alhaji Alhassan Ibrahim Musa. He spoke on a wide range of issues concerning the Lagos-Ibadan rail line.

“You have to look at all the sides before you can make a comment. there are good sides, high sides and low sides. Yes, there were some encumbrances we had initially, such as the rainfall that affected the works and the formations. I am happy for the dry spell we had these last two months because of the ability of the contractors to finish the relocation of the Narrow Gauge. We took a ride from the EBJ to Apapa Wharf to inspect some of the progress made on the Standard Gauge.  We also took a ride from Apapa all the way to Iju Station on a new relocated Narrow Gauge. It is an achievement and it is a good development.” He said.

For him, it also affords the contractors, the means to transport their materials and equipment to site. However, when it comes to the Station buildings, the Chairman said the government is not getting what they expected. “Like I said we have to look at all the sides. For instance, all the finishing materials for the stations are stuck at the ports. The ship that brought the materials cannot berth. The ones that have berthed, the materials and the containers cannot be moved out. But we are going to have a meeting with port officials to see how they can help us to accelerate the movement of these materials and containers out of the port so we can meet the deadline set for the project.” Said the NRC chairman..

Progress in some of the stations, largely, have left much to be desired. “So, you can see that there have been some levels of disappointments with the station buildings except for Kajola. You can see there is a lot of difference between Kajola and the others. All we have in those places are carcasses.” He said.

KaftanPost observed that some communities in the Agbado-Ijoko axis along the corridor of the Lagos-Ibadan project are dissatisfied with the fact that government is not making progress in developing an overpass for their area.

Though the Railways chairman noted this, he said since the project started, many of the communities have expressed their happiness. “As you saw yourself, they were hailing the President, the Minister and everyone who has been a part of the project, invoking blessings on us…” He said.

However, he said in the case of the complaining communities, their complaint is the fact that there are no overpass bridges both for pedestrian and vehicular movements in their area. According to the Chairman, the affected communities have made a plea to government for special attention to be given to their plight. “I have looked at it. The Minister has looked at it and we are going to do something about it.

The Transportation Minister, Rotimi Amaechi is on the same page with the NRC Chairman. “It is a mixed bag. Some stations are doing well while others are not.  Kajola is doing well. There is an improvement on Omi Adio. We didn’t stop at Olodo. Abeokuta is a no-no. there is an improvement in Ebute Metta. Where we have a problem is from Ebute Metta to Apapa. I don’t think that they have done well…” Said Amaechi.

The excuse given the Minister is that all the equipment needed to accelerate the pace of the job are at the seaport. Until they berth, they can’t even clear because it is not yet their turn. We are going to have a meeting with the NPA to resolve all that.

Although the Minister had known about the ports issue all along but he had underrated the challenge it would pose to the project. “I thought being the parent ministry, they would grant us some concession… but then now that we have reached that bridge, (we would cross it) we would have a meeting with the NPA and it would be chaired by the Minister of State, Sen. Gbemisola Saraki.

Surely, with this draw back arising from the challenge at the ports and the relocation of utility pipes and demolition of obstructing structures, would the April deadline still be feasible? “I won’t answer that question and the reason is that they (contractors) believe they would be ready. But I don’t know if that is true or not. But let us wait and see…” Minister replied.

Another challenge the project (at the Abuja/Kaduna end) is experiencing is the racketeering going on in the Abuja station where desperate passengers pay as much as N5,000 to get to Kaduna from the Federal capital territory. To that the Transportation Minister believes that once more coaches are added to the Kaduna-Abuja line, the racketeering would be resolved. “There is nothing you can do about racketeering until you produce more coaches.” He said.

Still on the delay at the ports, Amaechi offered that the fault may not be an engineering issue(at the ports) but due to the fact that administratively, they may not be able to berth the equipment the contractor needs to complete the project on schedule. “The glasses, the doors, everything they imported to get the job going, are not even at the seaport (yet) but waiting to berth. Until they clear those things, they may not be able to do what they need to do.” Said the Minister. The materials arrived Nigeria on the 18th of January but the problem they have is to berth.

On his part,the NRC Chairman is cautiously confident the project will deliver on schedule. “April is what the contract terms states. April is the time schedule that would see to the completion of the Lagos -Ibadan leg of the project. That is why the Minister is doing all he can to keep to the schedule. Each time, we tried to get them to complete the project last December or (this month) January, they always came up with one excuse or the other.  So, in order to avoid some conflict with them and be termed by them as unreasonable, we asked them which time they believe they can actually complete this project and they told us April is the date on the contract.” He said.

Nonetheless, Musa said the government is not leaving it all to the Chinese as it continues to push them towards ensuring that the April schedule is the worst-case scenario as the last deadline for the delivery of the project. “So, as it is now, we are working on their own terms and on their schedule. Initially, we had thought we could fast track it. But they stuck to the terms of the contract. So, we are working with it, confident that the project would be delivered in April.” He said.

At the last inspection in December,2019, one of the issues that came out was the level of local content component in the project implementation. It came to the fore on this edition of the inspection, although not as emphasized as the last time. “The contract term is not specific that there must be local content in the project. If you allow them, even sand they would bring from China because they are financing the project to some extent. What they are financing is the material they are bringing from China, not the cash.

When Nigerians hear about all the billions of dollars the Chinese are investing in the project, they believe it is cash that the Asian giant is pumping into the job. “No. it is not cash. It is the materials they are bringing in into the project. What they are bringing is the materials to build the tracks, the stations, the labor and the expertise.” Said the NRC Chairman.

According to him, the government, as much as is possible, desired the Chinese use local equivalent of materials they want to bring from their country. “But they counter argued that even our local producers import some of these components from China.” He said

The Governor of Oyo State Seyi Makinde was supposed to have made the tour long before now. He had missed the schedule twice. “Now, we are here now, Live and direct…” He joked. From all he had witnessed on the inspection, Makinde believes a lot of work has been done. “Yes. A lot still has to be done. Like I was telling the Honourable Minister, this monthly inspection has the potentials for putting pressure on the contractor and on everyone concerned towards ensuring the project is delivered.” Said the Governor.

He realizes the fact that this segment of the project would be landed in Ibadan, the State capital. “That is why I am here to look at the level of work done and place it with what is expected of me.

About the dry ports to be sited in Ibadan. He said it is an opportunity for the State to grow her economy as people would no longer need to drive hours to Lagos to clear their goods. “The goods arriving at the port here, overnight they can move them to the dry ports. It would save the government pressure on the Lagos-Ibadan road. As it is right now, that road is the busiest 120-kilometer stretch of road in the entire country. It would also ensure less trailer traffic on the road to gain some sanity on our roads.” Makinde said.

He further reiterated that when people coming to clear their goods come to the State, they would stay in hotels and buy things they would need locally and by so doing would be assisting in developing the local economy of the State.

As the inspection tour wound down, it was clear that it would be a Herculean task for the Chinese to deliver the project in April, but government officials are secretly hoping and praying that a miracle would make that to happen. But in a worst case scenario, they expect that the Standard Gauge Rail Line between Lagos and Ibadan would be delivered in May in time for President Muhammadu Buhari to commission the service ahead of the 2020 Democracy Day celebration.

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