By Jennifer Y Omiloli
The federal government has uncovered that it is set to take conveyance of the primary clump of 10 coaches, out of the 64 coaches anticipated from China in June 2019, to lessen the clog at the Abuja-Kaduna rail line.
The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, made this known, Monday in the wake of driving a designation to China to assess the pace of work at the Chinese Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) Tangshan Company Ltd.
An announcement by the Director of Press, Ministry of Transportation, Muhammad Idris, in Abuja, said that the clergyman mentioned that 10 coaches be conveyed to Nigeria most recent June to soothe the weight on the Abuja-Kaduna line just as the Lagos-Ibadan line which will before long be prepared.
According to him, “We need coaches by June latest. We need coaches that can carry men from one point to another and we need a minimum of 10 coaches now out of the 64.
“I requested 10 coaches now because we need to improve on Kaduna-Abuja line. If the 10 do not come, there is nothing I can do but it has to come because they have to manufacture for us to use in Kaduna-Abuja and again, Lagos- Ibadan will soon be ready. We also have to ensure that we get coaches that we can be using, pending when they finish the construction of the 64 coaches.”
Amaechi, while lamenting the pace of construction of the coaches, which he described as slow, however, noted that the company needs to improve on it.
“In fact the contract has expired, we may not have paid all the money but we paid quite a substantial sum and therefore they should construct speedily.
“The contract was signed in December 2017 and was supposed to expire in February 2019. The time has expired and there is a breach of contract but we will look at what the law says because more than one third of the money has been paid,” he said.
He called said the issue isn’t with CRRC however an agreement among Nigeria and CCECC, including that it will be tended to in Nigeria.
The minister, while at CRRC Shandong to review the freight wagons being worked for Nigeria, unveiled that there was a verbal concurrence with CCECC to restrict the railroad business in Nigeria which should create 15 percent of the mentors, trains and wagons.
He said: “We had a verbal agreement for them to produce 15 per cent of the coaches, locomotives and wagons. They came back and said it was too expensive to establish locomotives and coaches factory, that we can start with wagon and do 100 per cent assembly in Nigeria for the first five years. After the first five years, they will now build a factory that will manufacture wagons in Nigeria.
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“It is not part of the contract we signed in 2017, but I insisted that for me to sign, they must localise it to create more jobs, reduce the expenditure of foreign exchange. Instead of going to buy dollars, you pay the Chinese in their local currency.
“We have to go further to ask them if we can own it, we have not talked about ownership but what we said is, localise it. Even though they are using their profit to build it, you can make them hand over the ownership to Nigeria. As for the assembly plant, I intended for Zaria but they chose Kajola in Ogun State.”
Amaechi, further coordinated the Managing Director, Railway to hand over land for the wagon manufacturing plant to CCECC before May 8, 2019.
Also, the General Manager, CRRC Tangshan Company Ltd, Mr. Zhou Junnian, communicated energy over the visit of the Nigerian appointment to the CRRC and for their trust.
Junnian uncovered that the traveler mentor segments are 100 percent from China, including that materials for works rely upon the speed of the item and the client prerequisites.
He said that later on, CRRC will work with the CCECC to satisfy the high guideline and quality expected to complete the undertakings.
Prior, the Chairman CRRC Shandong, Mr. Wang Zichong, while talking on the advancement of the Nigerian wagon structure and production, noticed that the plan has been finished, including that they have been acquiring the materials and model assembling will be completed as right on time as possible.
Zichong expressed likewise that the particular for Nigeria’s localisation workshop has been finished. “We are setting up the apparatus and gear produce,” he included.
On when the gathering plant workshop would be finished, he expressed that it very well may be done in a half year whenever given the land.
