Lalong urges FG to connect Abuja, Plateau with rail

Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State has called on the Federal Ministry of Transportation and Aviation to consider construction of railway from Abuja to Jos to ease transportation system in the country.
Lalong made the call when the Minister of Transportion and Aviation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, paid him a courtesy call on Friday in Jos.
The governor said that the rail line would cater for about five states if provided, adding that movement from Abuja to some of the North-East states would be made easy.
Lalong also called for the resumption of work at the Jos Airport to make it viable, saying that the project had since been stopped and abandoned.
He urged the minister to look into the project and the status of the airport “as to whether it is a local or international airport”.
“Honourable minister , our first request is that we want your ministry to conclude the construction of the airport immediately, so that we can take advantage.
“The state can also come in where necessary and we are already waiting because if the ministry starts the construction, the state has an intention to intervene.
“The second one is the railway. When we saw the railway from Kaduna to Abuja, all the travelers from Bauchi, Gombe, Yobe and Maiduguri were all eager to see the same from Abuja to Jos.
“Just Abuja to Jos will be enough to accommodate six or seven states from Yobe, Taraba, Gombe, Adamawa, Bauchi, and the whole of North-East,” he said.
Lalong also commended the Federal Government for the commencement of the Jos Inland Container Depot project, saying that the project would be actualised.
He commended the minister for the innovation he had brought into the transport sector through his determination to revive the rail sector as well as the aviation sector.
Earlier, Ameachi told the governor that he was in the state to ensure the commencement of the Inland Container Depot by the Nigerian Shippers’ Council in Jos.
He said the project was in line with the government resolves to make doing business easier for the people, especially the importers and exporters.
According to him, the project will also create employment opportunities for the people of the state.
Amaechi said that the government had decided to complete all airport projects across the country.
The minister said that the government had decided to revive all the old rail lines in the country.
He explained that the government had also planned to modernize the narrow gauge lines into standard gauge to make it faster.
Amaechi was in the state to flag off the commencement of the Inland Container Depot of the NSC in Heipang, Jos.