The federal government has said it is committed to ensuring that the $1.5 billion Lagos–Ibadan express rail contract recently approved by the Federal Executive Council, is completed in the next 36 months.
The Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar, gave this assurance at the contract agreement signing ceremony with the contractors, the China Civil Engineering Construction Company, in Abuja on Tuesday.
Giving the breakdown of how the express rail will be financed, the Minister revealed that the project is to be partly financed through a $1billion China EX-IM bank concessionary loan facility, while the federal government will be paying the balance of $5 million.
Both parties said they are confident that, unlike the last time when funding constraints frustrated the last contracts, the contract will be completed on time.
