7 Key Takeaways as Buhari flags off reconstruction of Eastern Rail Line

Earlier this Tuesday, the reconstruction of the Eastern rail line and its ground breaking ceremony was done by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The rail line when completed will connect Port Harcourt, Enugu, Markurdi, Maiduguri; with branches in Owerri, Imo and Damaturu. The rail line will also link the Bonny Seaport and Port Harcourt Industrial Park.

One question that has been asked is the reason why the revamp of a narrow gauge line for the Eastern Rail at this time. Why Narrow Gauge for the Eastern Corridor?

According to the Minister of Transport, Chibuike Amaechi, there’s a plan for a 1,500km Standard Guage Line for the Eastern Corridor but pending funding is sourced, the government decided to revamp the Narrow Guage.

According to the Honourable Minister, the revamp of the Port Harcourt Maiduguri rail which is a 1,443 length distance will be funded by a Direct investment from the China Civil and Engineering and Construction Company at a cost of $700m.

The Minister said the rail line will will run at 60-80km per hour for freight and 80-100km for passengers.

Speaking during the ground breaking ceremony, the Managing Director of CCECC said the Port Harcourt Maiduguri Rail and Deep Sea Port and Railway Park project will generate about a thousand jobs during construction and 5,999 permanent jobs when it becomes operational.

He also said that the China Civil Engineering and Construction Company was once the Foreign Aid Department of China’s Ministry of Railways saying it was as Foreign Aid Department that it developed the Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) Rail Line, in the 1970s.

At the launch, President Muhammadu Buhari said the revamped #PortHarcourtMaiduguriRail (with New branch lines to Owerri, Bonny, Damaturu) will be linked to existing SGR using new Transshipment Centers Rail.

He said funding is part 85% from lenders, while the Federal Government of Nigeria is supplying counterpart funding of 15% Port & Park with direct Investment by CCECC.

The revamped #PortHarcourtMaiduguriRail will run across 12 States and 65 LGAs. It will terminate in a brand new Sea Port on Bonny Island, with a link to a new Railway Industrial Park in Port Harcourt.