FG To Create 250,000 Jobs From Railway

The minister of transport, Mr Rotimi

Amaechi, has said the federal government

has plans to embark on massive railway

infrastructure development across the

country, saying that works on railway lines

when they start in 2016 could absorb

250,000 people.

The minister also said that from its current

1.41 per cent contribution to the nation’s

gross domestic product (GDP), the ministry

of transport under his leadership would

work to raise transport sector’s contribution

to GDP, stressing that the current

contribution was unacceptable.

The minister yesterday ended his tour of

transport facilities and agencies in Lagos

which he began last week, touring airport

facilities at the Murtala Mohammed

International Airport and its environs before

he briefed journalists about his findings and

the President Muhammadu Buhari-led

administration’s plan for the transport

sector.

The minister who noted that Nigeria suffers
the bane of inadequate transport
infrastructure, said the federal government
would use opportunities that abound in the
sector to build the economy as such
countries as South Korea and Singapore.
“The railways has suffered significant
neglect even though it is the cheapest mode
of transportation. The current state of
railway is an indication of severe neglect
and it is a chaotic situation, with
government spending without any return on
investment.
“Government will focus on railway to
encourage mass transit of and cargo
freights by railway. The current government
is planning massive investment into the
standard gauge whose constructions will
begin 2016, with the Calabar-Lagos coastal
railway.

Source: Leadership