By Audu Abba Kurama, Maiduguri
Borno State Governor, Babagana Umara Zulum, is set to construct an intra-city rail network to connect Maiduguri and its environs. This is the first of such project by any of Nigeria’s 19 northern state governments.
The first phase of the project will commence with 12 designated terminals within Maiduguri, to connect major markets, schools, other public places and economically viable locations.
The project, which could be expanded to cover local government areas in the future, will facilitate the seamless movement of passengers and goods, and open up economic activities and corridors across the state.
Inspecting the proposed take-off rail terminals and routes with the implementation partner, Eighteenth Engineering Company (EEC), Borno’s Commissioner for Transport and Energy, Aliyu Mohammed Bamanga, noted that feasibility studies, environmental risk assessment (ERA) and community consultations are underway to ensure the successful implementation of the novel project.
The commissioner further stated that when completed, the project will ease transportation, revitalise the economy, create jobs and re-engineer the city’s transportation network.
Zulum’s innovative intra-city rail project will not only be an alternative cost-effective means of transport for the people, it will be energy efficient and environmentally friendly and will support other ongoing transport infrastructural projects, including the 113-kilometre Maiduguri East, West and South ring roads expansion, which will link Auno, Molai, Polo and Shagari low-cost communities.
Zulum’s administration has previously commissioned electric and gas powered taxis and buses, at subsidised rates for residents of Maiduguri to cushion the ripple effects from the rise in transportation and living costs, following the fuel subsidy removal.
He has also embarked on various urban and rural infrastructure projects across the state. Zulum’s commitment to infrastructural development in Borno is part of a larger strategy to restore peace and prosperity to the state after the effects of the over one decade long Boko Haram insurgency.
