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Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council (cabinet) has approved a plan to link the nation’s six major geographic areas with a railway network of nearly 5,000 km, ‘The Guardian’ newspaper of Lagos reported on Thursday.
The council also approved a plan for the existing 2,980 km of railways to be converted to modern standard lines. The entire project is to be implemented in phases over a five-year period, ‘The Guardian’ quoted Information Minister Jerry Gana as saying. He said the Transport Ministry was seeking a management consulting firm to coordinate the project.
“The railway system is very important to a vast country like Nigeria,” Gana said. “It is a strategic decision and it would assist a lot in transporting people and property.”
One of the aims of the endeavour would be to reduce stress on Nigeria’s roads, which are in poor condition and extremely busy. An accident on Monday near the capital Abuja claimed at least 26 lives and sparked a demonstration.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions