President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday commissioned the $1.5 billion 157-kilometre Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge railway project for full commercial activities in Lagos.
Buhari explained that from the beginning of his administration, railway infrastructure development has been given the priority it deserves and various milestones have been reached.
“This vital line establishes an end-to-end logistic supply chain in railway transport within its short corridor, Lagos-Ibadan, as goods to the hinterland would now be transported by rail directly from the Apapa port Quayside straight to the Inland Container Depot located in Ibadan from where it can be distributed to other parts of the country,” Buhari said.
“We have in the rail sector, further to other ongoing railway infrastructure projects, embarked on the completion of the outstanding segment of the Lagos-Kano railway, which is Ibadan-Kano.
The Lagos-Kano railway project, when completed, will link the Kano-Maradi line at Kano and a rail link from the Nigeria southern ports of Lagos to Maradi in the Niger Republic.”
In his reaction, Lagos State Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu said the standard gauge rail project is a testament to the federal government’s investment in Lagos State.
Sanwo-Olu said, “It is indeed a pride to see a project start and end within the life span of an administration. The social and economic importance of this project cannot be overemphasized. The commissioning of this rail line has made it possible for people to work in Lagos and live in Ibadan.”