By Chesa Chesa
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday approved the award of contracts for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri eastern narrow gauge railway.
The railway line will have new branch lines and trans-shipment facilities, and will cost $3,020,279,549.
The Council also approved the construction of a new deep seaport in Bonny, Rivers State under a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) at a cost of $461,924,369.
A further construction of a railway Industrial park in the State capital, Port Harcourt, also under PPP, at no cost to federal government, will cost $241,154,389.31.
The Port Harcourt to Maiduguri narrow gauge railway will have new branch lines from Port Harcourt to Bonny and from Port Harcourt to Owerri are new lines.
There will be another branch line connecting the narrow gauge to standard gauge at Kafanchan, Kaduna State.
There will be a branch line from Gombe, or before Maiduguri, to Damaturu and Gashua in Yobe State.
The Federal Government had faced criticisms recently for approving a new rail line from Nigeria to neighbouring Niger Republic when rail lines in Nigeria are in bad shape.
