By Adedapo Adesanya
China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) has announced that the Lagos-Ibadan Rail has been officially connected to the Apapa port complex.
The construction company confirmed this in a statement sent via a tweet on Monday, February 1
“On the morning of January 25, 2021, with the successful pouring of the last 25-meter monolithic track bed superstructure of Apapa Port Break Bulk Line, the Lagos-Ibadan Railway was officially connected to the Apapa Port in Lagos.
“The Apapa Port Spur Line of Lagos-Ibadan Railway starts from the Mobolaji Johnson Station, Ebute Metta and extends southward to Apapa Port, with a total length of 8.72km,” CCECC disclosed.
It added that the linking of the rail to the port is crucial and will enhance the import and export of goods.
“As a crucial channel linking the mainline of the Lagos-Ibadan Railway to the port, it has become an important transportation passage for the import and export of goods and now serves as a significant guarantee with regards to the comprehensive operational efficiency of the Railway,” it added.
The company explained further that the construction process was “an extremely tough nut to crack” because of its dense underground pipelines, high underground water level, complex geological conditions, and numerous ground constructions.”
The project, according to the company, took nearly three years of unremitting efforts and working around the clock.
The Lagos-Ibadan line is a double-track standard gauge rail, the first of its kind in West Africa. It runs from Nigeria’s economic hub and most populous city to Ibadan, the capital of Oyo state.
The $1.5 billion project was financed by China with the federal government providing counterpart funding.
After the official inauguration, travel time will be cut to two hours, according to a statement by the project’s contractors. Passengers will pay between N3,000 and N6,000 for tickets.
Dipo Olowookere