Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, on Friday, ordered stoppage of work at Omi-Adio Railway Station under construction on Lagos-Ibadan standard guage rail line over compromise of standards by the contractor.
Amaechi gave the directive when he got to the station during his monthly routine inspection tour of the ongoing project which he commenced from Lagos in company of others.
According to him, the observation of non-usage of stone for flooring at the station is one of the benefits of continuous inspection of the project.
“One of the benefits of this inspection is what is happening here now. The contractor has been seen to be doing very poor quality job in this station.
“We say stop and they have to start afresh.
“The implication is that if we didn’t stop here like we didn’t at Olodo (rail station), we won’t know what they are doing. If we didn’t stop here, they would have properly laid these things and proceeded.”
The minister said that he had directed the consultant to ensure that there would be a consulting staff, who is an engineer, in every station to ensure quality.
He said that the consultant must be on ground in each of the station always and not on visiting basis.
On progress in track laying, Amaechi said that the contractor had met the Federal Government’s target, but must work harder on construction of stations for speedy delivery.
According to him, there is the need to speed up work on stations and deliver it by February which is the government timeline.
He said that the argument of contractor was to deliver by April 2020, but the government’s argument was that they needed more hands and equipment to complete on time.
Amaechi, who noted that the track laying had reached 156km, expressed worry about the pace of work at Agege axis and the extension to Apapa port.
“We need to speed up and be able to decongest Apapa. We cannot decongest Apapa if they don’t get there on time,” he said.
Amaechi said that the delay in completing the 10 minor and major railway stations along the rail line was becoming more embarrassing, especially in December.
He said that his next inspection in January would start from Ebute-Metta to Apapa to see the level of work there.
“No matter how fast we are to Ibadan, if we don’t link Ebute-Metta to the sea port, then it is useless. We really have to decongest the sea port,” Amaechi said..
On Ibadan-Kano standard guage rail line, the minister said that he was sure that the loan for the project would be signed between January and February 2020.
On the limited number of coaches for the free ride from Iju in Lagos and Moniya in Ibadan flagged of on Nov. 29 and commenced on Dec. 2, Amaechi urged the people to manage the two coaches till January.
“By January we will increase the number of coaches to about 12 to 13 to carry more passengers.”
The track laying has moved from Iju Station to around Agege and that work was still ongoing in Lagos axis and in Ibadan axis.
It has reached 156 kilometres.
Amaechi, who assured Nigerians that the entire project would be delivered by April 2020, inspected Ebute-Matta, Agege, Agbado, Kajola, Papalanto, Abeokuta, Olodo, Omi Adio and Moniya stations on Friday.
Earlier at Abeokuta Rail Station, Amaechi described as embarrassing the delay by the China Civil Engineering and Construction Corporation (CCECC) in completing the 10 railway stations along Lagos-Ibadan standard guage rail line.
According to him, CCECC, the contractor handling the 156km rail line, has reduced the pace of work between the last two inspections in November and December.
“The delay is becoming an embarrassment and I think we need to meet with the CCECC. We cannot continue like this. The speed has reduced drastically this time, we need to meet with the management of CCECC. We have a problem with CCECC honestly,” the minister said.
Amaechi, who expressed displeasure over the work pace at Agbado, Kajola, Papalanto and Abeokuta’s railways stations, said the contractor had promised to finish the stations within three months.
The minister, who insisted that the stations should be completed by the end of January 2020, urged the contractor to engage workers ready to work.
According to him, all reasons the contractor is not moving forward as expected must be tackled to ensure delivery of the stations as soon as possible.
He said that block work, flooring, plastering and pipe layings should have moved forward than the stage they were.
Amaechi urged the contractor not to wait until April when the project was expected to be inaugurated before completing them.
He said that three years after the inauguration of the Abuja-Kaduna standard gauge rail line, the contractor was still at the site working on power.
According to him, for Ibadan-Kano standard gauge rail line was billed for commencement in 2020, so all the projects comprising track laying, stations, power should be taken at the same time.
The track laying has moved from Iju Station to around Agege and work was still ongoing at the Lagos axis.
Amaechi had assured Nigerians that the entire project would be delivered by April, 2020.
