THE Federal Government on Thursday disclosed plans to review the $8.3 billion railway development project awarded to a Chinese firm under the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
The former administration announced a 25-year rail development project which was to take off with the Lagos to Kano route at an estimated cost of $8.3 billion with the initial release of $250 million to China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC), the main contractor of the project.
Minister of Transportation, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, who made the government�s plans at the interactive session with transport stakeholders in Abuja, said the contract would be redefined and that the option was already at the drawing table.
The contract became controversial as a result of the revelations that it was overbloated. She disclosed that the present administration was determined to develop the railway system as an alternative to road transportation, which she said had been overstretched in the country.
She added that in about three or four months� time, the government would be able to begin with one tranche of the rail line, while looking other areas in order to develop a robust railway system.
She also announced a three-year road transport development programme from 2008 to 2011, to improve the safety, security, quality and speed of goods and people at both national and international levels.