By Bashir Olanrewaju
Nigeria’s dual-guage rail line linking the commercial capital, Lagos with the city of Ibadan and the northwest, is now connected to the main port of Apapa.
This latest stage in the expansion of Nigeria’s rail system was announced by the Nigerian Ports Authority. “Decongesting Apapa remains a key priority of this management,” the agency said on Twitter.
The connection of the rail line to Nigeria’s biggest port was actually achieved on 25 January, the contractor, China Civil Engineering and Construction Coompany said.
The completion of the rail link will be key to alleviating the congestion that befell the Lagos ports area in recent years as access roads failed, making movement of import and export goods difficult. The aftermath further spilled into the rest of the city, helping to make its perennial traffic jams even worse.
In addition to the regional standard guage rail that will ultimately connect Lagos to the northern city of Kano the Lagos state government is also developing intracity metro lines that on completion will help take away much of the pressure current being piled upon the road system.