The 320-kilometre standard gauge rail line connecting the port city of Warri, Delta State and Itakpe, Okene in Kogi State including the station buildings has been declared reading for commissioning.
The operational hub of the rail line located in Agbor, Delta State, has also been named after the immediate past president of Nigeria Goodluck Jonathan.
Although the standard gauge line connecting three states including Kogi, Edo, Delta has since April 2019 been used for commercial operations while the construction of the 13 station buildings along the corridor was ongoing.
But the Minister of Transport Rotimi Amaechi while inspecting the project on Sunday said the rail was ready for commissioning and may be commissioned by the President virtually.
He disclosed that contractor handling the project Julius Berger has moved from the site while the China Civil Engineering Construction Company, (CCECC) is maintaining just a little presence saying what is left is for them to handover to the Nigeria Railway Cooperation (NRC), and Transport Ministry.
Amaechi said the NRC’s director of rail Engr Baba Kobi will double as the managing director for now until there is an arrangement to do the final inspection and take over from CCECC and Julius Berger.
Expressing satisfaction with the quality of work, he said: “When you see a good job, don’t ask questions. The camera will show that this is a good job, this is the Goodluck Jonathan Agbor Station which incorporates the railway facilities. Julius Berger and CCECC teams have all done a good job. We will know if NRC has done a good job when they manage it properly because the issue is maintenance”.
“I don’t want to come here in the next four, five years and it looks worn out. I have seen the toilet facilities they look good but typical of us, I hope in the next five years it will be intact because in Kubwa now, those things look worn out, if you break anything, replace it or repair it. I think we should learn to maintain the infrastructure that we inherit”.
