President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday virtually inaugurated the 326 kilometre-Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri rail line for commercial operations 30 years after the project was conceived, and directed the Ministry of Transportation to ensure that all the nation’s ports are linked to the rail line.
The president, who also launched the ancillary facilities’ yard, at the recently named Goodluck Jonathan Railway Complex in Agbor (Owa-Oyibu), Delta State, said the rail line would eventually terminate in Abuja.
Buhari, who declared the rail line open for operations at a virtual meeting in the State House, instructed the Federal Ministry of Transportation to link all the nation’s ports of origin and destination, including Apapa, Tin Can, Warri, Onne, and Calabar Ports to the rail network to enhance overall transportation and economic capacities.
Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, in a statement issued yesterday, said the president recognised the importance of railway mode of transportation as a strong support for industrialisation and economic development.
He also said the president disclosed that he had instructed relevant authorities to ensure the prioritisation of viable rail lines in the country and kick-off the reconstruction and rehabilitation of others.
He quoted the president: ”Accordingly, I have approved the prioritiation of viable railway routes for either new rail lines or the reconstruction and rehabilitation of some, to achieve effective and efficient train services supporting the country’s trade and commerce.
”The railway infrastructure that I have the honour to commission today is the rail line from Itakpe via the steel town complex of Ajaokuta to Warri, and is an important link for the country’s economy as the central rail line.
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