Nigeria’s minister of transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi over the weekend says certain types of cargo will not be allowed to go by road after the completion of major rail projects across the country.
He was speaking at an economic event Deloitte organized in Lagos on Saturday, Amaechi said it is important to transfer the movement of some goods to rail from the road.
The minister said the movement of cargo by rail is faster than by road, adding that this would make the highways last longer.
“As soon as we finish these rail projects, there are some types of cargo that will not go on road, whether you like it or not,” Amaechi said.
The minister added that the fares for passengers would be subsidized.
“No matter what we charge, it will not be the same as what we charge you on goods,” Amaechi said.
“When the FG does rail projects, it is the job of the state governments to do roads to the different railway stations.”
He also said his ministry has agreed to construct some of the roads that would take passengers and cargo out of the train stations.
He said the government is working towards having the capacity to construct railways in 10 years time.
Amaechi added that about 150 Nigerians were being trained in China on railway construction.
