Witnessing cutting-edge, paradigm- shifting and catalytic impact is always thrilling.
POOR transport infrastructure has been flagged by Nigerian firms as one of the major constraints to seamless commercial activities. The Transport Working Group of Nigeria’s vision 20:2020 program noted that historic underdevelopment and lack of maintenance of transport infrastructure have “resulted in the growth of Nigeria’s economy falling well below its potential, and disadvantaged its manufacturing and agricultural sectors”.
The transformative and national significance of the Lagos-Abuja High Speed Rail project is a game-changing infrastructure development that promises to transform Nigeria’s transportation landscape, foster economic growth, enhance regional integration and scale up the country’s global competitiveness.
This ambitious project, once completed, will connect the country’s economic hub, Lagos, with the federal capital, Abuja, through a high-speed rail network.
Cardinal to the Renewed Hope agenda of President Bola Tinubu’s administration is a functional transportation system, and of tremendous necessity and overarching importance is the need to link Nigeria’s prime cities of Lagos and Abuja for additional growth engineering.
As required in the process of collaboration with government in form of Public Private Partnership(PPP) and having seen the readiness of the Nigerian Government to partner with the private sector to deliver infrastructure and services, in 2016, Geofocus—a firm of Engineers, Surveyors, Urban and Regional Planners—identified the construction of an electric High-speed Railway to connect the commercial city of Lagos to the administrative city of Abuja as a veritable tool that will develop the economy. The process of driving this to reality has culminated in the formation of the AEC-GEOFOCUS consortium.
The fast-emerging economic hub of the eastern flank of Lagos State of the Lekki-Epe axis is from where the new corridor Lagos-Abuja High-Speed Train would take its root and it is designed to traverse Lagos State(from Lekki) through Ogun State, Oyo State, Osun State, Kwara State, Kogi State, linking Barro Bridge in Niger State and finally connecting the Federal Capital Territory(FCT) Abuja over a distance of 500km. The development of this is through Design, Build, Finance, Operate, Bank Maintain and Transfer(DBFOM) under Public Private Partnership(PPP) model.
AEC-GEOFOCUS has continued to present this legacy project in the competitive financial and capital markets locally and internationally with the outcome that the project has now attracted capital to itself on a Design, Finance, Build, Operate and Maintain(DBFOM) on PPP basis with a consortium of investors form the Middle East now ready to pump in eleven billion dollars($11b) to finance the project, with some other financial institutions from some European and Western countries and the World Bank indicating strong interests to co-finance the project by channeling in more funds. This is owing to the confidence and goodwill the laudable and productive policies of President Bola Tinubu has imbued in foreign investors now viewing Nigeria as a fertile investment ground.
This High-speed Train(Bullet Train) is a standard double gauge rail line which consists of freight and passengers and up to a speed capacity of 250km/hour. It has the two main stations of Lagos and Abuja and eleven(11) intermediate stations.
It is noteworthy that, ten(10) smart cities would emerge along the corridor of the Lagos-Abuja High-Speed Train with a massive number of housing units to be built in addition to an independent power plant. This is the first of its kind in Africa and it would mark the beginning of the birth of Africa’s most virile economic nerve corridor of its age.
Linking Lagos and Abuja with an economic high-speed train evinces national pride with multifarious importance and benefits of increasing the efficiency in the discharge of goods and services between Lagos and Abuja on the one hand, and activating the industrial life of the Northern region of the country on the other. This will also build up Abuja as an industrial city and regional market for the country.
It will stimulate land-based commuter services between Lagos, Abuja and the North with a veritable private sector participation that has enduring business outlets of many growing towns, boosting trade and commerce through faster transportation of goods and people that will in turn increase trade volumes, stimulate economic growth and create new business opportunities.
Given the high-speed capacity of the Bullet Trade(250km/hour), average travel time between Lagos and Abuja will be drastically reduced. The prevailing average travel time from Lagos to Abuja by road is 10 hours. The Bullet Train will taper travel time between Lagos and Abuja to just 3 hours.
This project will as well generate massive employment opportunities during the construction phase and create new jobs in the transportation, hospitality and services sectors post construction.
A modern, efficient speed train linking Lagos with Abuja will enhance Nigeria’s attractiveness to foreign investors, promoting economic growth and development.
The Lagos-Abuja High Speed Rail will reduce congestion on roads, especially along its axis, and reducing the pressure on existing road infrastructure, minimizing damage and extending the lifespan of roads.
The corridor will provide safe, secure and reliable commuting for millions of Nigerians, ameliorating the menace of insecurity bedeviling smooth and safe transportation in Nigeria.
Engr. Mutiu Yinka Idris, the Director of Operations at Geofocus, has expressed unflagging optimism in the grand flag-off of the milestone Lagos-Abuja High-Speed Train project before February, 2025 with all the pieces sliding into place, and also assured of the resolve of the AEC-GEOFOCUS consortium to give its all and work in concert with every associated interest and body in bringing about the delivery of this project to the best possible standards.
Plaudits must be heaped on the Minister of Transportation, Senator Sa’idu Alkali, for silently but tremendously transforming Nigeria’s transport sector for greater growth and prosperity, while laying the foundation for an enduring and significant transport economy that feeds into the broader Renewed Hope agenda for of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The dimensions of a vibrant and robust transport sector that the Honorable Minister of Transportation is building is a renaissant approach at setting Nigeria’s feet firmly on the path of riding a wave of a transformed transport sector to national prosperity.
One doesn’t have to squint into the distance to see the drive and avowed commitment of President Bola Tinubu’s administration to bring about a positive transformation of the country across every sector. The commitment of this administration to the realization of the Lagos-Abuja Bullet Train is telling. This is a significant driver of growth that will tether our nation to the coattails of dazzling prosperity.
It is within the bounds of reason to conclude that, the novel transformational initiative of the Lagos-Abuja transport corridor is a new paradigm at national awakening to a greater Nigeria.
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