FCTA says investors to manage Abuja Light Rail

The Federal Capital Territory Administration has said it expects many investors to indicate interest to manage the Abuja Light Rail system which has just been completed.

The Secretary, FCT Transportation Secretariat, Comrade Kayode Opeifa, disclosed this while briefing journalists in Beijing, China, on the sidelines of the ongoing 2018 Summit of Forum of China and Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

In a statement, a copy of which was made available to Daily Trust, Opeifa said the coming on board of the investors will free government of the burden and huge cost of running the rail system which is both difficult to build and manage.

The scribe, who briefed journalists on the full components of the Abuja Light Rail project, also revealed that the project was partly financed by the China Exim Bank, Cooperation of the Chinese government and also by the Federal Capital Territory Administration.

Opeifa noted that, “Phase 1 of the rail project has been completed and the phase 2 contract signed and we are waiting for financing.”

Speaking on the benefits of the FOCAC summit to the FCT, the secretary explained that, “the FCT is the fastest growing city of the world and you can only imagine the amount of investment the Chinese want to bring in.

“The FCT has the population; Nigeria has the population and China has the financing. So there could not have been a better time for Nigeria and China as well as FCTA and Chinese investors to partner on infrastructural development,” he added.