The 1,402 kilometres Lagos-Calabar rail line, for the second consecutive year, failed to get the nod of the federal government as there is no provision for its take-off in the 2022 federal budget estimate.
The project involves railway platforms, 22 railway stations including ancillary facilities, installation of safety systems, electrical and lightening systems administrative space, and level crossings.
In March 2021 while delivering the 34th convocation lecture of the University of Calabar, Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi disclosed that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government was on the verge of signing a loan agreement for the take-off of the project, expressing optimism that in no time, contractors would be mobilise to site.
Four months later, Amaechi disclosed that the London-based Standard Chartered Bank had agreed to finance the construction of the project $11bn out of the US$14.4bn required for the implementation of the project; an amount ratified by the Federal Executive Council in August, 2021.
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