The Federal Government, FG, has proposed to spend over N30 billion on the installation of Acoustal Sensing Security surveillance system for the Abuja (IDU)-Kaduna railway, including other items in the 2023 budget.
Other items include: completion of the Abuja-Kaduna railway; completion of the Lagos-Ibadan and its associated additional works; rehabilitation of Itakpe-Ajaokuta rail line and construction of 12 NOS station building and tracks laying works at railway ancillary facilities area agbor, among others.
The figure which is part of the federal government’s executive proposal in the 2023 Appropriation Bill also earmarked over N126.53 billion for the parent Ministry of Transport.
Of the figure, the Ministry of Transport headquarters gets N93.66 billion; Nigerian Railway Corporation, NRC, gets N20.45 billion; National Inland Waterways Authority, NIWA, gets N5.39 billion.
Others are: National Institute of Transportation, NIT, which gets N4.69; Maritime Academy, Oron, receives N1.55 billion, while Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria gets N775 million.
Also, the Federal Government has proposed to spend a total of N4,31 billion of its N126.53 billion budget on purchase of trains, under the line items, code: 23010111, while N100 billion would be expended on facilitating the Mass Transit scheme.
Procurement and rehabilitation of rolling stock (Narrow Gauge), and rehabilitation of narrow gauge track from Minna to Narrow with extension to the Baro River Port, which are ongoing, would gulp N2.98 billion.
Also, establishment and management of six national freight offices nationwide, which is ongoing gulps N100 million, while N10 million would be spent on education and construction of speed reduction signages using the International Road Assessment Program, CIRAP, with Federal Capital Territory Authority, FCTA.
