TheCable

Rotimi Amaechi, minister of transportation, unforeseen challenges are affecting the construction of a standard gauge railway line between Lagos and Ibadan.

The $1.5 billion project was scheduled to be completed in December 2018.

The minister said China Civil Engineering and Construction Company, the project contractor, has had to contend with a number of obstructions on the rail line’s right of way such as houses, companies, gas pipelines, water pipes and overhead bridges.

Already, the Lagos state government has agreed to remove two bridges in the way of the rail line.

The former governor of Rivers told journalists on Tuesday after a meeting of the project implementation committee with the CCECC  that they were “battling with time schedule”.

He said the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had started inspection of some of the gas pipelines on the right of way of the project in Ogun state, saying the inspection would be completed in two weeks.

The minister said the government has settled property owners whose houses were affected in order to clear the land for the smooth take-off of the project.

He said the laying of tracks is dependent on when the issue of right of way is resolved.