$3bn required for Lagos light rail system - NRC boss

10.03.2008

About $3 billion will be required for the construction of a light rail system to improve the traffic situation in Lagos state. The acting Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Mr. Jetson Nwankwo, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Lagos.

Nwankwo said the project might be financed either by the World Bank or the African Development Bank (ADB) in collaboration with the federal and Lagos State governments.

The NRC chief put the cost of constructing a kilometre of modern rail at between $3 million and $6 million, depending on the terrain. He, however, said there was nothing wrong in sacrificing such an amount for a state like Lagos, considering its role in the nation’s economy.

“If you need to pull down some structures and pay compensation before construction, pull them down. Nothing is too much to sacrifice for the traffic problem in Lagos.

“If other countries are having underground metro line system, why can’t Nigeria do it? We have to start from somewhere. “ For instance, South Africa, because of the 2010 World Cup games, had built an underground train system to handle envisaged high traffic at the stadium,” he said.