The China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), the contractor responsible for laying tracks on the Eastern Narrow Railway project, has announced the completion of track laying on the Port Harcourt to Aba section of the corridor.
This information was disclosed in a statement published on the official website of the construction company on Wednesday.
The statement read, “New year, new progress! The tracks laying from Port Harcourt to Aba on the Nigeria Eastern Narrow-Gauge Railway project has been completed.”
It is worth noting that in a recent interactive session in Lagos, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation, Fidet Okhiria, assured that the tracks laying from Port Harcourt to Aba on the Port Harcourt to Maiduguri corridor would be ready in 15 days.
The Eastern Narrow-Gauge Railway plays a crucial role in connecting local railways, ports, and cities, thereby enhancing the nation’s railway network.
Currently, the construction of tracks on the Port-Harcourt to Maiduguri Railway corridor is in progress. Once completed, this project has the potential to significantly boost the country’s economy and social development.
In 2022, Nairametrics reported that the former Transport Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, announced the start of the reconstruction of the Eastern Narrow Railway.
On March 10, 2021, the Federal Government reached an agreement with a group of Chinese financiers to begin a $3 billion rehabilitation and reconstruction project for the Eastern Railway.
The Federal Government will contribute 15% of the total cost, while the Chinese group will cover the rest.
In September 2023, the current Transport Minister, Saidu Alkali, expressed concern about the slow progress of the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) in reconstructing the Eastern Railway corridor.
He attributed the delay to the contractor’s use of a manual alignment process for laying tracks. Once completed, the Eastern Railway will connect several states, including Rivers, Imo, Abia, Enugu, Ebonyi, Anambra, Benue, Nasarawa, Plateau, Kaduna, Bauchi, Gombe, Yobe, and Borno, by rail.
