Mr Rotimi Amaechi, the Minister of Transportation on Thursday said that the construction and laying of tracks on the Lagos-Ibadan Standard Guage line will start by June.

He stated this at the construction site at Adumbu village, near Papalanto in Ogun, saying that the Federal Government had resolved the issue of utilities such as underground pipes, gas lines and cables.

This, the minister said, posed a challenge to the work in Lagos State, noting that about 11 kilometers of track laying had been completed at villages along the Lagos-Abeokuta axis.

He added that government was making progress on the project and would deliver it in record time.

“We discovered that there are about 17 bridges from here to Ibadan and the construction is going on to meet up with the scheduled time.

“By June, construction and laying of tracks will fully start in Lagos, when all the utilities might have been taken care of,” Amaechi said.

He added that artisans and technicians would be employed to handle some areas of the project on the field, as work progresses and its scope gets wider.

Amaechi said that some of the artisans were currently undergoing training with the contractor, for proper maintenance of the project after completion.

He reiterated that the rail line would be completed in January 2019, adding that efforts had been put in place to ensure proper channelling of pipelines and underground cables in Lagos state.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 150 km Lagos-Ibadan Standard Guage line project is being handled by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC). (NAN)

•Photo by Israel Ibeleme shows, L-R; Commissioner For Energy, Lagos State. Hon. Olawale Oluwo, Honourable Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, and Managing Director of Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Engr. Fidet Okhiria during the Inspection of Lagos-Ibadan Railway Modernization Project with Extension to Lagos Port Complex Apapa, at Ibadan.

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