Reps Set To Probe N18 Billion Rail Contracts

Members of the House of Representatives, yesterday, mandated the committee on transport to probe the N18 billion contracts awarded for the rehabilitation of rail tracks, standard gauge, bridges, coaches, wagons and locomotives between 2010 and 2014. The House also resolved to probe infrastructural decay at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu State. The motion on Nigeria Rail-ways Corporation, NRC, and its contractors was sequel to a move by Solomon Ahwinawhi (PDP/Delta) entitled Need to Investigate the Ministry of Transport and the Nigeria Railways Corporation, NRC, on the Award of Contracts for Rehabilitation of Railway Tracks, Maintenance of Bridges and Procurement/Rehabilitation of Coaches and Locomotives from 2010-2014. Ahwinawhi said: “The level of performance, with respect to the 463km Port Harcourt-Markurdi rail track rehabilitation of the eastern line with N19,963,752,330, out of which NRC has paid N4,017,054,841, while SURE -P paid N5,594,021,377 and only about 3km of ballast has been done with 400km left undone and the total money released so far is N9, 611, 076, 218. “The Abuja-Kaduna rail project had 841 million US dollars as the project cost, out of which the China EXIM Bank provided a loan of 500 million US dollars with about 25 percent of the project completed, when the entire project was envisaged to have been completed in 2014.“ He also said the Lagos-Jebba track rehabilitation project was awarded at a contract sum of N12, 293,390 with the payments made so far at N11, 699, 999,218, without any tangible work done adding that the same goes for Jebba-Kano.