The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi has reiterated the importance of the freight services on Warri- Itakpe Standard Gauge Railway.
Amaechi who inaugurated the Freiight Service of Guage Railway line at Ujevwu community near Warri, Delta State said the services would create jobs and promote the ease of doing business in Nigeria.
According to him, the standard guage route which was abandoned for over 30 years had been rehabilitated by the Buhari administration and put into operation.adding that it had been one of the strategic aims of the present administration to ensure that all critical infrastructure abandoned by the previous adminstration, particularly, those that would benefit the citizenry are completed and commissioned.
” The freight serviice will enhance more efficient,land- based and affordable mode for mass transit and freight services.” he said.
Amaechi noted that patronage on the Itakpe Rail route had increased by over 200 per cent in the last few months and it is becoming a preferred means of transportation for communites along the route in Delta,Edo and Kogi and urged the people in Warri and neighbouring communites to support the federal government to enable the success of the freight serviice.
In his address, the Chairman, Board of the Nigerian Railway Corporation ( NRC), Alhaji Ibrahim Musa,traced the origin of the Itakpe Rail construction.
Musa said the Railway project which started in 1987, was stalled for 30 years due to paucity of funds.
He said the railway network consists of 3,505 kilometers of single track routes of the 1,067mm narrow guage on the Western and Eastern lines.
Also in attendance was the Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation ( NNPC) Mallam Mele Kyari who in his good will message said that the project would have tripple effect of massive job creation across the nation as well as domestic gas supply for power generation.
Kyari who was represented by the Managing Director, Nigerian Gas Company,( NGC), Mr Seyi Omojowo.
The GMD noted that before now, moving pipeline through Nigerian roads was the only option,but said by this laudable achievement of resuming freight services via railway,NNPC’s global goal on Health Safety and Environment nicknamed Goal Zero incident and accident will be achieved.
