[size=14pt]700,000 Passengers to Ride Abuja Light Rail Daily in 2015.[/size]
Article | July 24, 2013 - 11:50am | By Michael Paul
An estimated 700,000 passengers are projected to ride the Abuja Light Rail (ALR) daily when the first phase of the project takes off in 2015, FCT Minister, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed has said.
The minister stated this during the flag-off of construction works on the 12 rail stations located along the first phase of the ALR project.
He performed the flag-off ceremony jointly with the Chairman, Senate Committee on FCT, Senator Smart Adeyemi and the FCT Minister of State, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide.
The ground-breaking took place at site of the National Park Rail Station, Wuye District, Abuja.
The 12 railway stations under construction cover lots 1A and 3 which make up the first phase of the ALR project. The projects are scheduled to be completed within the first quarter of 2015.
Giving a breakdown of the 12 rail stations, Senator Bala Mohammed said that Lot 1A has four stations while Lot 3 has eight.
The four stations along Lot 1A are Gwagwa Station, Deidei Station, Jibi Station and Gwazango Station; while the eight stations along Lot 3 are Abuja Metro Station, National Stadium Station, National Park Station, Ring Road II Station, Wupa Station, Idu Transfer Station, Airport East Station and Airport Main Station.
Senator Bala Mohammed said the 12 stations would provide shopping precincts, cultural and entertainment centres to boost tourism.
According to him: "The rail stations are places of high economic activities, boarding or alighting, rail transit management and operations, commercial and tourism activities."
chucky234: How did I missed this,you saying Canada has more resources than Nigeria shows you are nothing but empty vessel vibrating for attention. Firstly Nigeria's crude reserves is 37.7bn barrels and thats a mere estimation as no one knows the actual amount of oil deposit in Nigeria, we also have more solid minerals than Canada,some of the minerals available unmined in Nigeria are iron ore,copper ore,tin, quartz,zinc,gold,e.t.c while Canada has minor iron ore industry and mainly import from Brazil. . Secondly Nigeria was above Canada in OPEC's list of top producing nations few years ago only bettered by Venezuela,Saudi Arabia,USA,China and Mexico, we moved down to 7th with Brazil and Canada just behind as Canada's daily output were just a little above 2m barrels per day,our daily production droped due to the activities of Niger Delta militants which affected crude daily output. In 2013 Nigeria moved to 10th on the list just below countries like UAE,Brazil,Mexico with Canada taking 6th position because the increase in crude theft in Nigeria which resulted in decrease of our daily crude output. It may also interest you to kow that beside VLCO,SLCO our own BLCO is the next in top demand around the world thats the US will rather buy from Nigeria than from Canada who is their close neighbour. OPEC ranks nations based on daily crude capacity and not estimated by reserves or deposits as you dumbly believe. Canada will not sustain her daily output if they have half of the bad leaders and thiefing politicians we have in this country. . Finally the Lagos rail project is funded by IMF and not the state govt. . Get your facts right before coming out here to make a foøl of yourself.
Hahahahahhahahaha
This coming from the guy who claimed that the Lagos State Government bought the dummy trains (which actually belong to CCECC) to carry passengers on the Blue Line. You see all sorts on nairaland, including people who just hurl insults around and make little or no sense.
[size=14pt]Anambra: Crisis as Ngige emerges APC consensus candidate[/size]
Our Reporter August 22, 2013 58 Comments »
• Other aspirants kick • Okorocha’s role in controversy
By EYA WILLY, Lagos and FRED ITUA, Abuja
As the clock ticks toward the November 16 governorship race in Anambra State, the All Progressives Congress (APC) is mired in confusion over who picks its ticket.
The development came following the presentation of Senator Chris Ngige as the consensus candidate of the party in the forthcoming election by leaders of the party in Abuja, yesterday.
The adoption of Ngige came about as the South-East interim Deputy Chairman, Senator Annie Okonkwo, who was in the race for the governorship ticket, stepped down for Ngige.
Announcing the withdrawal of Senator Okonkwo, during a meeting of leaders of APC, Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State revealed that his decision to step down for Ngige was borne out of the spirit of brotherhood geared towards moving the party forward.
Okorocha also revealed that Senator Okonkwo would lead the campaign of Senator Ngige as they prepare to take over Anambra State.
Okorocha said: “We have the masses and I can assure you that victory is guaranteed for APC in Anambra State. Today, I want to present to you one of the people who is the initiators of this merger. His name is Annie Okonkwo. He will go down in history as that man who rose up from the East and ensured that the Igbo are part of this merger.
[size=13pt]“We have resolved and agreed that there will be primaries in Anambra, in accordance with our party regulations and constitution.[/size] In his magnanimity, Senator Annie Okonkwo will lead the governorship campaign of Senator Chris Ngige. Our party is a party of unity. Our mission is one. Our mission is to save the lives of numerous Nigerians while saving the lives of the poor Nigerians.”
Okorocha warned that the party must put its house in order and use Anambra governorship poll as a litmus test towards future elections in the country.
“For the South-East and for Anambra elections, there is no cause for alarm. Anambra election will be the test case for APC. It will be the first stage for APC. Therefore, this party must do all it can to deliver Anambra for APC,” Okorocha warned.
The Imo governor further warned the party to de-emphasise religion and ethnicity that have been associated with APC to garner the support of Nigerians.
“Our victory in 2015 has been signed, sealed and delivered,” Okorocha said, adding: “To do so, we must unite. To unite, we must de-emphasise ethnicity and religion in APC.
“We must ensure that our presidential candidate, governors and local government chairmen are men of integrity and not based on where they are from. Let him who is competent rule this country irrespective of where the person comes from.
“Leaders must not be chosen on the basis of their religion, but on what they can do. For so many years, we have celebrated failure and ignorance in Nigeria. APC is a child of circumstance. Nigerians are waiting anxiously for this party. We must not fail them,” he added.
Meanwhile, Daily Sun can authoritatively reveal that Governor Okorocha was instrumental to the presentation of Ngige as the consensus candidate of APC in Anambra.
It was gathered that Okorocha, in what seemed a political masterstroke, had single-handedly taken it upon himself to ensure that there’s not only primaries to pick the governorship candidate for APC in Anambra but also to have Ngige as the sole aspirant.
Sources revealed that Okorocha had met with the aspirants in the party, who were campaigning to be the candidate on Tuesday night and persuaded them to step down for Ngige. It was learnt that the aspirants refused, insisting that there should be primaries to pick the candidate and that if Ngige won they would accept the result.
Daily Sun learnt that yesterday morning, before the commencement of APC meeting, Okorocha also tried to get the aspirants to accept his proposal for them to step down for Ngige. Again, the aspirants refused.
At the meeting, it was gathered, he seized the opportunity of addressing the gathering to announce that other candidates had stepped down. Reports stated that the governor spoke after Senator Okonkwo agreed to step down. The announcement had created confusion in the meeting, which was attended by only a few leaders of the party.
Reacting to the emergence of Senator Ngige as the consensus candidate, one of the aspirants on the platform of the APC, Godwin Ezeemo, described it as the wishful thinking of Okorocha.
He said the Imo governor would not be allowed to become an overlord in an election that concerns people of Anambra State.
His words: “Governor Rochas Okorocha is not from Anambra State and he would not be allowed to become an overlord in an exercise that is for the people of Anambra State.
“As far as I am concerned, the announcement of Senator Ngige as the consensus candidate of the APC in Anambra is complete falsehood. It is merely the wishful thinking of one man in the person of Rochas Okorocha,” he said.
Ezeemo said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) does not recognise consensus arrangements, insisting that there must be primaries for the aspirants running on the platform of the APC in Anambra State.
He said before now, leaders of the party had all agreed that there must be a level playing field for all the aspirants and maintained that nothing short of primaries would be accepted by his teeming supporters.
He stated: “When did Rochas Okorocha become a native of Anambra State and somebody that would now dictate what happens to people of the state. We are going to resist any imposition in the coming election because that is not what the constitution says.”
Efforts made to get Senator Okonkwo’s reaction proved abortive. Calls to his mobile phone were not picked. Also a text message sent to him was not replied.
When the interim spokesperson of APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed was contacted to clear the air over the emergence of Senator Ngige as the consensus candidate, he declined comments, saying Daily Sun reporter was at the Abuja meeting.
But in his text message to Daily Sun, Senator Ngige said: “I thank our party’s leadership and party men, my co-aspirants, especially Senator Annie Okonkwo for the honour, and for finding me a fit person to fly our new party’s flag for the upcoming Anambra governorship election, while Senator Annie Okonkwo will lead the campaign to victory.”
I'm hesitant to post the next article, because it's the kind of article that the anti-spam bot likes to ban. Lots of figures, strange characters and it's quite voluminous.
I think I'll only post it if I absolutely have to.
billante: Abuja – The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday approved N1.3 billion contracts for the design of five fast train lines across the country.
The Minister of Transport, Alhaji Idris Umar, disclosed this after the Council meeting presided over by Vice President Namadi Sambo, at the State House, Abuja.
Umar said that the Council had approved the contracts to ease the burden of transportation across the country.
“Today I brought a memo to Council seeking for the approval to award contract for consultancy services to carry out feasibility studies on five corridors.
“The first is Lagos-Abuja. The Lagos-Abuja is intended to usher in the highest speed train system which is a distance of 615km.
“It is our hope that the train can ply from Lagos- Abuja within a maximum period of three hours with about five stops.
“The total contract sum for the five corridors is N1, 334, 405, 366.74 with a completion period of seven months.’’
The minister said that the light rail, which was conceived to ease transportation problems, would “compete favourably with the air industry’’.
The second rail line is Lagos – Benin with a distance of 300km while the third will run from Ajaokuta – Abuja, a distance of 533km.
The fourth and fifth, from Zaria – Illela and Benin to Aba covered 520km and 500km respectively.
Umar said that government was committed to the resuscitation of the railway system in the country.
He said that a double approach adopted included the rehabilitation of the existing narrow gauge rail lines and the resuscitation of the railway in the area of the modernisation. (NAN)
L-R; PHEL GRIFFTH OF GENERAL ELECTRIC; MINISTER OF POWER PROF. CHINNEDU NEBO; MR. SAMUEL ARTOM; VP NAMADI SAMBO; GOV LIYEL IMOKE & VICE CHAIRMAN G.E, MR. JOHN RICE DURING THE GROUND BREAKING CEREMONY OF GENERAL ELECTRIC'S FACILITY IN CALBAR. JUNE 18, 2013
SAN FRANCISCO, June 18, (THEWILL) - Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo; Cross River State Governor, Senator Liyel Imoke; General Electric’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Lazarus Agbazor; and Vice Chairman, GE, Mr. John Rice, Tuesday led the groundbreaking ceremony of General Electric's $1bn (N160B) multi model service and manufacturing facility located at the Calabar Free Trade zone.
In 2009, General Electric signed a landmark country-to-company agreement with the Federal Government aimed at forging a strategic partnership that will see the two parties working together on high growth opportunities and investments in support of vision 2020 and in January, 2013, the federal government and GE of the United States sealed the $1bn investment for the establishment of a new manufacturing and assembly facility in Calabar.
Also at the groundbreaking ceremony were the Global Supply Chair Leader of GE, Mr. Phel Griffith; Minister of Power, Professor Chinedu Nebo; and Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Mr. Samuel Artom.
Faith played itself out when the initiative of the Governor, then serving Minister of Power and Steel was instrumental to the setting up of a framework where an MOU was signed between GE and FGN mandating GE to setup a plant in Nigeria way back in 2004. GE settled for Calabar, Cross River State without any influence from the State Government.
In the words Governor Imoke, “Cross River State has remained at the fore-front of Tourism and Hospitality Development. Over the years we have consistently invested in the development of policies that accelerate the development of the State’s economy. This no doubt has further positioned the State as a first choice for investors. GE which is the 3rd biggest company in the world is joining other investors in tapping into an economy that is ready for the future. Ours is a natural fit.”
According to Mr. Nzan Ogbe, Special Adviser, Governors Office, the state was chosen because of its exceptional enabling business climate for investment as well as supporting infrastructure such as functional sea and airports, free trade zone and a well articulated investment policy.
THEWILL affirms that Cross River State is also the most secure state in Nigeria with a crime rate of less than 2% and a fully integrated emergency response centre that is fully operational.
[size=13pt]The plant would be designed for the manufacture of generator turbines for power plants, coaches for trains, engines for aircrafts as well as hospital equipment, among others.[/size]
Also with General Electric setting up in Calabar, it would attract a lot of other investment from allied companies who typically follow GE’s lead as their risk assessment and endorsement of Calabar mitigates any risk hitherto envisaged by potential investors as Cross Rivers due diligence mechanism is world class.
In consonance with GE setting up a manufacturing plant in the state, other multinationals in the last one year have done same viz; Wilmar group, Songhai Farms, Dansa, UPDC investing in housing development (Golf Estate) and ARM investing in the hotel and hospitality sector (CICC hotel).
The Special adviser, Investment promotions, Mr. Gerald Ada, also noted that according to GE’s due diligence of Cross River State, about 300 Nigerian professional engineers and technicians would be employed in the GE factory, and that provision would be made for the training of young Nigerians through the company’s technology transfer programme.
A) Heavy rail: This thread is about improvements in the heavy rail network. Rail lines and services that were dormant are being revived (including the rail links to Apapa and Port Harcourt Quays). This move is very important for our economy.
Goods like wheat, cement, mattresses, petroleum products, etc are now being transported by trains. This makes it cheaper for manufacturers to move raw materials directly from the port to their facilities and move finished goods the other way. It also makes life easier for importers.
Wempco has set up its steel factory in Lagos. It needs iron to be able to produce sheet steel. The iron mines are at Itakpe in Kogi State. The dilemma is how to transport iron from Itakpe to Lagos. Well, the Iddo-Kano rail line has a branch that leads to Itakpe. The revival of the rail system makes life easier for Wempco.
One of the problems we've had with the heavy rail system is that the Colonial Government laid narrow gauge tracks, which are very slow. I read of a reception for Lord Lugard in which the Resident (colonial administrator) complained that he needed standard gauge rail tracks because the trains were so slow that sacks of groundnuts were being built up into pyramids in Kano rather than being conveyed to the port in Lagos.
Standard gauge tracks are now being laid.
B) High speed rail: The proposal for a high speed rail link between Lagos and Abuja has been made since the Obasanjo era. Now the government is getting Chinese help to build it.
naptu2: The major new rail lines that have been planned are (in no particular order)
1) The East-West rail line
2) The line to Abuja
3) The high speed rail line from Abuja to Lagos.
At the moment they are rehabilitating existing lines, but one of the reasons GEJ went to China last week is to get a loan for the line to Abuja (and the Abuja metro).
However, these high speed trains do not carry goods.
C) Metro: This is very important, particularly in the big cities of Lagos, Abuja and Port-Harcourt. The Lagos and Abuja metro systems are currently being built, but I hear that the Port-Harcourt Monorail project is experiencing some difficulties.
naptu2: I hope I don't get banned by the anti-spam bot.
There are two complaints that recur:
1) The trains are old.
2) We need high speed rail services.
Well, in response to (1) above, General Electric are building a plant in Calabar where new train engines and coaches will be built for the NRC.
In response to (2), I believe that we need a mix of train services and it seems that governments across the country are working to get us that mix. We need:
A) Heavy rail to carry goods. This will reduce costs, encourage investors, increase the lifespan of our roads, etc.
2) High speed passenger trains. This will reduce journey time, reduce travel costs and give citizens a choice (train vs plane vs road), etc.
3) Metro. To decongest our roads, improve productivity and efficiency, etc.
It almost seems as if the anti-spam bot is stalking me. That's my 3rd ban in less than 24 hours. Thanks to the mods for releasing my post.
Guys, scroll up and read my article again. The locomotives at Alaba are dummy trains that are used to test the tracks. The real trains that will ply the Blue Line are HTC 5 and 6 subway trains that were used by Toronto up till 2012. Toronto is buying rocket cars are selling the HTC to the Blue Line franchisee. The HTCs are being refurbished in the US at the moment.
Note: the trains have not been bought by the Lagos State Government, but by the franchisee on the Blue Line project.
There are also metro projects in Abuja and Port-Harcourt that will use electric trains.
Locomotives are needed on the National Rail system to freight goods (coal, crude oil, flour, wheat, iron ore, etc) and they will also carry passengers. GEJ went to China to get a loan to build the Lagos-Abuja high speed rail link and to complete the Abuja metro, but the high speed trains are not going to freight coal, steel, etc.
Finally, about new trains, General Electric (GE) is building a factory to build and assemble new trains, engines for the Independent Power Plant, etc. They are also upgrading NRC's workshop at Ebute Metta so that train coaches and engines can be assembled there.
I hope the anti-spam bot does not ban me as I continue to post evidence.
The Lagos Rail Transit (LRT) system will be similar to the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system in the sense that the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) will build and maintain the tracks, while the concessionaire will procure and maintain the trains.
Already, the concessionaire on the blue line has procured H5 and H6 subway cars from the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), a public transit operator based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, (as their transit operator is acquring its new articulated six-car fixed Toronto Rocket subway cars to replace the older cars). The cars have been refurbshed and converted to surface rail cars. Lagos State Government will build a dedicated independent power plant to provide electricity to the system.
The Lagos-Badagry Expressway is part of the abandoned Trans-African Highway project. However, it is prone to massive traffic jams. This has stunted development along that corridor since people don't want to live and work in that area because of the traffic problems.
Therefore, the Lagos State Government is expanding the road. It will be a 10 lane expressway with BRT and LRT routes. Julius Berger is expanding the road (so far they've expanded the road between Orile and Mile 2 and expanded the Mile 2 Bridge), while Chinese Civil Engineering and Construction Company (CCECC) is laying the tracks. It's largely going to be an elevated rail system (CCECC has built part oof the bridge along the Orile axis and they are also building elevated stations from Orile too Mile 2).
I thought there was no reason to post on this thread, but I just discovered, to my amazement, that there's someone who knows absolutely nothing about what's going on in Nigeria.
chucky234: You are just deceiving yourself,the trains already in operation are locomotives and they conveys human beings and not goods only as you dumbly claimed. The two coaches positioned along Alaba axis of the CMS - Mile 2 rail project in Lagos are also locomotives,where are the billions of dollars from IMF going.
Now this is very funny.
1) Can you tell me what the two coaches positioned at Alaba axis are? What do you know about the HTC trains?
2) Where did you see me say that the locomotives will only carry goods?
3) Do you think that the Lagos State Government is buying trains to run on the Blue Line?
4) Who do you think owns the locomotives that are in the Alaba area?
plaindealer: True, with other source of LNG springing up all over the world, the price fell drastically, but you are wrong about local demand and consumption simply because we are still decades behind in gas usage, we mostly still burn fosil fuel and kerosene when we really should have moved away from such relic products to LNG. Our industries and homes are yet to be penetrated because of lack of investment and will by our leaders to see beyond their pockets and greed.
By now, we should be talking about our buses running on LNG, laying gas pipes into our homes and industries.
Saying there is no demand for what we are yet to tap and desperately need to tap on behalf of 160 million population sounds a little bit off. The fact that our lazy and usless leaders are yet to do the right thing doesn't mean the demand is not there, in fact, the demand is huge and untapped..
I remember that, back in the 1980s, NNPC regularly exhibited a made in Nigeria peugeot 504 that ran on gas, with the promise that such cars would go on sale in Nigeria "next year".
Won't happen. That place will probably become the Yaba Rail Station.
I would rather advocate that the government should provide mortgage facilities to traders. This should make the Tejuosho and other markets more affordable.
Trading on or beside the rail line is complete insanity.
There will be demand for gas from Asia, but there will also be demand from the Independent Power Projects that are coming on stream. We will still produce gas and even expand the quantity we produce. However, that doesn't mean that we shouldn't diversify our economy. The reasons for diversification were as valid in 1982 as they are at the moment.
The real trick that will lead to diversification is fiscal federalism and democracy.
Between 1956-1966 the regions had more control and got more revenue from their resources and so were able to look within and leverage on their areas of comparative advantage. That wasn't the case in 1999 when we returned to civilian rule. Democracy, increased autonomy for state governments, etc have improved things, but we are moving much too slowly.
Why isn't Ondo aggressively exploiting its cocoa? Even if we agree that Nigerian politicians are very corrupt, it's still true that exploitation of cocoa will produce more money for them to steal. Why have the northern governors refused to set up ranches, milk and meat processing factories, invest in agricultural extension, etc. Why isn't government patronising Innososn? What about the Eko Auto Company?
The reason is simple: cheap oil money from the centre.
We need to wean state governments off this drug by implementing real fiscal federalism.
Tobetoe: I don't know if i shud rejoice over it or cry over d matter. The fact is not too cleared to me.. Naija is recieving 200 'LOCOMOTIVES'. I guess that word is too archaic,wat of SPEED AND BULLECT ,but wer preffer LOCO.. secondly, naija is recieving 200 locomotives ,but frm where if i may ask.,ok maybe frm chinco. . Someone shud enlighten me here.
1) Locomotives = goods.
2) High speed rail (Lagos-Abuja).
3) Metro (in Lagos, Abuja and hopefully Port Harcourt).
3. Don't advocate or encourage violent actions against any person, tribe, race, or group of people
Perceiving them as crazy people, their neighbors every once in a while kill them, as one kills irritating flies. Those that perpetually boast and tell you that they are better than you are irritating mosquitoes and must be swatted to death. Thus, occasionally Igbos are swatted to death for their behaviors are like those of mosquitoes.
ujoinme: nothing from that article confirms that chevron and shell have withdrawn from the project only BG withdrawal is confirmed. read it again. I am tired of the ethnic lenses that colors everything in nigeria and nigerians. irrespective of where the LNG is built will it not contribute to the development of nigeria?
+100. Very good post.
Firstly, it has not been confirmed that they are pulling out.
Secondly, remember what Rotimi Amaechi said in his Hardtalk interview? He said that the oil majors are not pulling out, but are concerned that the PIB has not been passed. It's difficult for them to plan and invest, if they don't know the rules that would guide their operations.
The My Lai Massacre was the Vietnam War mass murder of between 347 and 504 unarmed civilians in South Vietnam on March 16, 1968, by United States Army soldiers of "Charlie" Company of 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 11th Brigade of the Americal Division.
Victims included women, men, children, and infants. Some of the women were gang-raped and their bodies were later found to be mutilated and many women were allegedly raped prior to the killings.
While 26 U.S. soldiers were initially charged with criminal offenses for their actions at Mỹ Lai, only Second Lieutenant William Calley, a platoon leader in Charlie Company, was convicted. Found guilty of killing 22 villagers, he was originally given a life sentence, but only served three and a half years under house arrest.
Now, back to the original point (before the derailment), ie soldiers dancing. There's absolutely nothing wrong with it. They are human beings (as demonstrated by the marines in the video below).
On duty marines, in uniform, breakdancing in front of kids on the street (in public).
Politics › Re: Nigeria Railway Corporation To Receive Locomotives By December – Minister by naptu2: 11:09am On Aug 25, 2013
