The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister, Nyesom Wike, estimates that the Abuja rail mass transit (ARMT) should be finished in eight months.
When Wike examined the rail system on Wednesday, he spoke.
The FCT minister rode the train to the airport station from the metro station, passing by the Idu station along the way.
Loans from the China EXIM Bank were used to finance the rail, which was constructed in six phases.
On July 12, 2018, former President Muhammadu Buhari gave it his seal of approval, but soon after, mostly as a result of vandalism, the train service ceased operations.
Wike scowled at the broken status of the rail infrastructure and mentioned addressing problems impacting public transportation in the FCT as one of his concerns.
If the train system is finished, he continued, it will greatly lessen city traffic congestion.
“Transportation is one of the sectors we intend to intervene in the short term to reduce traffic congestion within the city,” he said.
“I know that we have a metro station in Abuja, and it is not working. Why is it not working? Can we fix it within a short time?
“I assured the public that the rail transport system is a project we will take to a logical conclusion.
“Before commencing another project, we will need to determine which areas are the most traffic areas. This is very important to decongest areas with traffic congestion.
“The money for the rehabilitation is on ground and I have already directed the permanent secretary, FCT administration, Adesola Olusade, to make sure that the contractor is paid.
“We will work to ensure that in the coming months, this project is commissioned and put to public use.”
The minister said even though completion has been estimated to take a year, “everything should be done to reduce that time from one year to eight months so the project can be completed and commissioned by the president”.
