Abuja-Kaduna rail line 85% complete- Minister

Minister of Transport, Sen. Idris Umar, said on Saturday that the Abuja-Kaduna Standard Gauge Rail Modernisation project was 85 per cent complete.

Umar announced this in Doko, Kaduna State at a ceremony to mark the attainment of 100km of tracklaying for the railway modernisation project.

“Today, in less than one year, the construction has attained over 100km out of 186km. In the next three months, the track will be completed. All the materials required are already on ground to achieve the completion and availability of the rail line’’, he said.

He said the major constraints encountered in the construction were in Abuja and had been overcome. Umar urged the Chinese Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) handling the project to continue with the zeal and determination with which it started.

Responding, Project Manager, CCECC, Mr James Li said there had been steady progress in the construction of the rail line since the commencement of the track-laying. He said earthwork site clearing had been done and devoid of obstructions or existing structures; while cutting, including rock blasting and filling were at advanced stages.

“About 185 km of the 186.5km route distance has been cleared, 8,597,000m of earth excavated, 403,000m of rock blasted and 6,064,000m of earth filling done. Sub structural works have now been completed on all the 26 railway bridges while all the five box bridges have also been fully completed. Also 13 out of more than 30 over-pass bridges have been completed while work is in progress on 16 others’’, Li said. (NAN)