By Philip Sawa
Babagana Zulum, the Borno State governor, has announced State’s readiness to partner with Chinese company 18th engineering to construct the first intra-city rail transport system in the entire 19 Northern States in Borno State, connecting Maiduguri, the State Capital with neighbouring cities, towns and villages
Media reports indicates that the first phase of the project will start with 12 designated terminals within Maiduguri, to connect major markets, schools, other public places and economically-viable locations within the States.
The project, which could be expanded to cover Local Government Areas in the future, will facilitate the seamless movement of passengers and goods, and open up economic activities in different corridors across the State.
Inspecting the proposed take-off rail terminals and routes with the implementation partner, Eighteenth Engineering Company (EEC), Aliyu Mohammed Bamanga, Borno’s Commissioner for Transport and Energy, noted that feasibility studies, environmental risk assessment (ERA) and community consultations were underway to ensure the successful implementation of the novel project.
The Commissioner stated that when completed, the project would ease transportation, revitalise the economy, create jobs and re-engineer the city’s transportation network.
