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Abuja rail mass transit derailed by inconsistent funding
By Terkula Igidi, Taiwo Adeniyi & Onyekachukwu Obi
So much has been said about Abuja rail mass transit project and residents of the capital city have waited anxiously to see modern trains running on tracks, hoping they would ease the transportation hassle of commuters but they still have to wait much longer. Investigations by Aso Chronicle have revealed that inconsistent funding is a major challenge for the effective execution of the project. The multi-million dollar project was awarded during the tenure of then Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Nasir El-Rufai but it has dragged on since it was awarded on May 23, 2007 at the original contract sum of US $841645, 898.00.
The project could not commence until May 28, 2009 after it was reviewed from the conceptual design it was awarded with. Since the project started, many buildings have been demolished while several people lost their farms, though they were said to be compensated. It has witnessed reviews under three different administrations.
From the original completion date of May 28, 2011 to a revised completion date of December 31, 2015, Aso Chronicle reliably gathered that the project could not be delivered on the scheduled date due to some constraints, including the change in government, delay in the appointment of FCT minister and the inability of the Federal Government to pay its counterpart funds.
The Abuja rail mass transit is divided into six lots owing to its enormity. The lots currently handled by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation Ltd are lots 1A and 3 covering 45.245km. The rail line is expected to convey commuters from the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport to the City Centre, and Idu to Kubwa.
Our reporters who went round the major sites of the construction work discovered that late payment of counterpart fund, delay in compensation, removal of buildings on the right of way and the absence of a minister for the FCT for over five months are major reasons the project cannot be completed on schedule.
There are strong indications from documents obtained by Aso Chronicle that the project would not be completed this year with 41.332km out of the 45.245km length of the double track rail line completed.
“We know when it is to be completed, that is December, but on our part we are not doing what we are supposed to do, we have failed in our own counterpart funding,” Engr. Etim Abak, the Chief Resident Engineer (Rail) of the project said.
Contractors handling the project said they have not been paid since June, “The file is still with the authorities,” Abak said, while explaining the delay.
Sources close to the government however said the payment was delayed due to the absence of a minister in the Federal Capital Territory. The sources said the FCT minister who was supposed to endorse the payments and send it to the appropriate quarters was not sworn in until late October.
The sources expressed doubts over the endorsement of the file for the release of the counterpart funding, which they said has since been passed to the presidency in the absence of the FCT minister.
One of the indigenous workers at the site said the lateness in payment has slowed the rate at which the workers perform.
“It is not possible in 2015; there are certain things that are time dependent. We have lost some time in the process of not paying the contractor in time. The work would also be affected, we cannot achieve it,” Abak explained.
“We have our schedule but it should be matched with the funding. If the funding has problem, certainly the schedule cannot be reliable. What I can assure the public is that if the new administration as it is now, can start the funding, I can assure you that by June everything would be completed,” he said.
“The only problem is the funding, which is affecting the execution of the project to be delivered on the expected time of delivery. We have done so much in terms of our counterpart funding, last year we have problem with funding for over two months,” he explained.
“Well for now, is not possible, we have lost some time in the process of not paying the contractors which also affect the progress of the work. What I can assure the public now is that, if the administration can start the funding as it supposed to be, by June everything we be completed,” Abak said.