The Federal Government has set aside N567.4 billion ($1.68 billion) for the upgrade and modernisation of the Kano-Kaduna segment of the Lagos-Kano rail line.
The contract for the project has been awarded to a Chinese firm, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC).
According to a statement endorsed by Yi Er San Ri and Liunian Jiuyue, on behalf of the construction giant at the weekend, the two-lane standard gauge design will travel at a maximum driving speed of 150kilometres per hour (km/hr).
In context, the rail line can move as fast as travelling from Lagos to Ibadan in 48 mins. This is expected to be faster than the Kaduna-Abuja rail line.
CCECC also signed a contractn worth $3.4 billion for the construction of the Calabar-Port Harcourt Segment 1, which aims to extend the rail line between Calabar and Port Harcourt to Onne Deep Seaport.
In 2006, the Chinese firm signed the Nigerian Railway Modernisation Project, to upgrade and modernise transportation between Lagos-Ibadan, Ibadan-Ilorin, Ilorin-Minna, Minna-Abuja, Abuja-Kaduna, and Kaduna to Kano.
The contract was signed at $8.3 billion at the time, only for the government to ask for the suspension of the project in 2008.
According to CCECC, the government later negotiated for the implementation of the Lagos-Ibadan, and Abuja-Kaduna segments of the project.
The Abuja-Kaduna rail line was delivered on July 13, this year while the Lagos-Ibadan segment remain uncompleted.