President Tinubu says Kano–Maradi rail challenge can be accomplished by 2026 

President Bola Tinubu has introduced that the Federal Authorities plans to finish the 284-kilometre Kano–Jigawa–Katsina–Maradi railway challenge by 2026.

The president made this identified on Friday in Katsina through the inauguration of the Katsina State Agricultural Mechanisation Centre and a 24-kilometre Jap Bypass, as reported by the Information Company of Nigeria (NAN).

In keeping with Tinubu, the railway line, which connects Kano in Nigeria to Maradi in neighbouring Niger Republic, will considerably enhance the motion of individuals and items within the area as soon as accomplished.

“The Federal Authorities plans to finish the 284 kilometre Kano-Jigawa-Katsina-Maradi rail challenge by 2026. 

“When completed, the challenge will ease the transportation of individuals and items, thereby relieving the strain on our roads,” he stated. 

President Tinubu additionally introduced that the Federal Authorities has awarded contracts for the rehabilitation of key street networks, together with the Marabar Kankara–Dutsinma–Katsina Street and the Zaria–Hunkuyi–Dabai–Kafur–Malumfashi–Dayi–Gidan Mutumdaya Street.

He assured that the second part of the continued Katsina–Kano Street challenge could be accomplished following the decision of technical and bureaucratic delays.

What it’s best to know  

The Kano–Maradi railway challenge was initiated through the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, who in September 2020 secured Federal Government Council approval for $1.96 billion to fund the 284-kilometre normal gauge railway line.

The challenge was designed to hyperlink Kano in Nigeria to Maradi in Niger Republic, passing by key states together with Jigawa and Katsina.

In January 2021, the Federal Authorities signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Mota-Engil, a Portuguese building agency, to deal with the $1.8 billion contract—the biggest within the firm’s historical past—masking the railway’s design, building, and provide of rolling inventory.

• By Could 2024, below the present administration, Minister of Transportation Saidu Alkali introduced that the Kano–Daura part of the railway could be accomplished by 2025, reaffirming dedication to the challenge’s phased supply.

He additionally disclosed that the 2024 supplementary finances had earlier allotted over N530 billion as counterpart funding for the challenge, whereas the remaining 85% of the financing could be sourced from establishments such because the China Exim Bank, Worldwide Finance Company (IFC), and AfDB.