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Post by Honorebu on May 26, 2016 19:52:19 GMT
The Federal Government is to look for private investment in the rail sector beginning with the Lagos-Kano rail line the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, said yesterday. Amaechi, who spoke at the House of Representatives public hearing on Nigerian Railway Authority Bill and the National Transport Commission Bill by the joint transport committees, told the legislators that $166bn was also needed in the next five years to meet the country’s energy and transport infrastructure needs. This is just as the chairman of the land transport committee, Aminu Isa (APC, Sokoto) said the sector needs urgent intervention as there is no daily rail service in Nigeria. The minister said an average of $10.2bn was needed by the ministry to cater for the deficit in the sector, making it a total of $50.3bn in the next five years. “Besides privatisation, government also realised a monumental infrastructure deficit which as at 2015 stood at over $3.05tr in 30 years or $166bn in five years with energy and transport infrastructure taking more than 50% of that need. Transport infrastructure alone needs a whopping $50.9 billion in five years to cover the current gap in the sector, an average of $10.2 billion per year,” he said. The Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, said new railway amendment bill would reduce the damage done to roads and highways by heavy duty trucks. Dailytrust
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Post by Short_Biscuit on May 28, 2016 11:05:54 GMT
It's better that way, IMO, coz there's no guarantee that there'll be enough money to execute the project anyway inspite of it being in the budget. Truth is that the country is currently so frigging broke that it's not even funny. And the current and sustained wave of pipeline bombings taking place in the ND is a clear indication that the next couple of years will most likely be very unfavorable to the economy. I want the 'worst' to happen -- whatever that will be. If it means the economy will crash completely to a point that will finally wean us from over-dependence on ND Oyel, then so be it. We can't continue like this for goodness sake.
Personally, I am happy all these are happening right now coz the country can't truly develop under the current system. Hopefully these crises popping up left and right will lead to either a disintegration of the country (my preferred outcome) or a restructuring of the country into a system with a weak center that'll allow regions/states the freedom and powers to keep the bulk (or no less than 70%) of the revenues earned within their domain. Allow every state and region look inwards and be responsible for their own growth and development relative to their willingness and ability to harness the resources (including human and mineral) within their domain. Enough of the Oyel-induced laziness already abeg.
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Post by omohayek on May 28, 2016 11:19:32 GMT
I know people from a certain region love to hate on Amaechi, but the man is simply telling the truth here about the scale of investment required to bridge the infrastructural gap Nigeria is suffering from. There is simply too much to do for any government to make much of a dent in, even if oil rises to $120/barrel and corruption magically falls to zero.
In more sensible countries this gap would be covered by private investment and personal/corporate taxes, but in Nigeria the "oyel" mentality has bred a laziness which assumes anything good must come from the government for "free". Tinubu was crucial in breaking Lagos out of that mindset, opening the way for Fashola and Ambode, and also setting Amosun on his path in the process. My great fear is that the discovery of large quantities of "oyel" in Lagos and other SW states will mean a return of that old lazy way of thinking to the region, instead of continuing on the current course which would lead to more sustainable prosperity in the longer term.
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