… covers 365kms
… 20,000 jobs, two terminals and three substations expected.
By Onwa Ekor, Calabar
In its avowed determination to expand and diversify the state infrastructure, Cross River government in partnership with Rinehooke Investments, Tuesday, flagged off the construction of a Grandlitora railway project that would run from Calabar to Obudu.
Performing the ground breaking ceremony at the Tinapa Business and Leisure resort in Calabar, the Cross River governor, Prince Bassey Otu, said the importance of the rail project in the overall economic growth of the state is premised on the strategic location of the state among other sub nationals.
“Cross River is frontier to Equatorial Guinea, Cameroons, Sao Tome and Principe, it is also home to the largest export processing zone in Nigeria, the Calabar Free Trade Zone, therefore the rail line will not only facilitate the easy intra-state movement, but it will serve as evacuation corridor for goods and services within international borders with the expected boost in international trade while its effect will tripple down to entrepreneurial spirit of the state, hence a catalyst for the state gross domestic product.
“On completion, the project would cover an approximate distance of 365 kilometers with main terminals in Calabar and Obudu while three substations would be located at Ugep, Ikom and Ogoja,” the governor explained.
Admitting that the cost estimate of the project stands at $350 million dollars, Otu said the public, private partnership in the provision of the infrastructure is based on funds from equity investment, debt financing from financial institutions with significant backing by the Cross River government in line with the international best practices in project financing and execution.
He enjoined the construction company, Rinehooke Investment, to attach the seriousness which the project deserves, in order to see to its completion within the agreed timelines.
To the various communities and people whose areas the rail project will cut through, the governor charged them to offer the construction company the needed supports, reminding them of a proposed stakeholders conference which will involve all communities along the route of the rail line.
Reasoning that his administration is poised to change the infrastructural landscape of the state through partnership that endures, the governor remarked that, “indigenes of the benefiting communities are expected to apply for soft jobs from the company based on their capacities and skills.”
For Stanley Orji of Rinehooke Investments, the project will attract investments, stimulate job creation and encourage the establishment of new businesses such as Hi-tech, tourism, manufacturing, agriculture, as well as enhancing the ease of doing business in the state, making Cross River an attractive destination for both local and international investors.
Earlier, the Commissioner for Transport, Pastor Ekpenyong Cobham, disclosed that the rail line will connect five economic zones of Calabar, Ugep, Ikom, Ogoja and Obudu, with the expected widening of trade links.
According to Cobham, “when the project finally comes on stream, the heavy stress on other already fragile asphalted road infrastructure would be greatly reduced thereby prolonging the lifespan of the roads.”
He further maintained that the railway project is intentional and deliberate going by the economic and social parameters as about 20,000 jobs would be created from the construction to the operational stage.
