Paucity of funds may stall Kano-Kaduna rail project – Amaechi

The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi on Friday expressed the fear that paucity of funds would slow down work on the Kano-Kaduna rail project.

The minister stated this during the inspection of work on the project in Kano.

He said: “I have never denied that we are having financial challenges and that is because of economic downturn.

“The Chinese are not funding the way they used to fund us and up till now, we are yet to conclude the loan for this project. So we are funding this project from the budget.

“That is why I was skeptical about the completion and said if funding is available. However, we are putting pressure on all the necessary institution that need to give us money.

READ ALSO: Chinese firm sues Amaechi, Malami over alleged rail contract inflation scam

“But currently, we fund it through the budget, we will approach the Ministry of Finance again to fund us within this period.”

The minister, however, expressed optimism that the contractors would deliver the project for commercial activities before May 2023.

He commended the China Civil Engineering and Construction Company (CCECC) on the quality of work on the project.

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