To finish rail projects all over the country, the Federal Government could get loans from China, Portugal, or Turkey.
The Minister of Transport, Mu’azu Sambo, told the Joint National Assembly Committee on Land and Marine Transport about this on Thursday, according to Naija News.
Sambo said he hoped that the Ministry of Finance would finish negotiating the loans with Chinese, Portuguese, and Turkish institutions that finance infrastructure development so that the projects could be done.
He said that the Kaduna-Kano, Port Harcourt-Maiduguri, and Kano-Maradi segments of the Railway Modernization are still being done, and that the Federal Government is paying for them in the 2022 budget.
He also said that the Lagos–Ibadan part of the Lagos–Kano and Itakpe–Warri railway projects were up and running and being used by the public.
The minister said that the Nigeria Railway Modernization project would be carried out by his ministry.
He said, “Right now, the Kaduna-Kano, Port Harcourt-Maiduguri, and Kano-Maradi segments of the Railway Modernization are being built with money from the Federal Government’s 2022 budget.
“The Ministry hopes that the Federal Ministry of Finance will finish negotiating the loans with Chinese, Portuguese, and Turkish infrastructure development finance institutions so that the projects can be done.
“For the loan agreements to be finalized and signed, these financial institutions need to see proof that the Federal Government will pay directly for the rest of the advance payment and other parts of the work. This can be done by making sure there are enough funds in the budget for 2023 and future budgets.”
