Minister of Transportation, Senator Sa’idu Alkali, has testified that the Kano-Daura-Maradi railway project which took off during the APC-led administration of past President Muhammadu Buhari is going on smoothly.
The minister reportedly drove along the cleared path for the rail tracks from Dawanau to Kazaure emirate. The project-monitoring trip appropriately ended at the University of Transportation, Daura.
The $1.95 billion project was awarded in 2021. Physical work started in late 2022. The minister was happy that earthwork and bush clearance had reached 80 per cent completion. The contractor has delivered numerous heavy-duty equipment to a huge project marshaling area in Kazaure, Jigawa State.
The minister said because the earthwork has reached 80 per cent completion, the assurance given by the contractor that the project would be timely completed in 2025 is credible. This affirms that the legacy project of the APC-led administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is on course.
The scope of work on the project involves a new railway line of 1435mm (standard) gauge on which passenger and good trains can run on a maximum speed of 150 kilometres per hour. The length of the tracks is 400 kilometres.
The project design, if it remains unmodified, includes 20 railway stations, five maintenance workshops and yards; a total 52 railway bridges; 75 road overpasses and six road underpasses.
