The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved a contract for the construction of a national freight office in Jibia, a border town in Katsina state.
The approval was granted Wednesday during the meeting of the council which held inside the council chamber of State House Presidential Villa Abuja.
The meeting was chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, in the absence of President Muhammadu Buhari who is attending a climate change conference in Poland.
The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Ameachi, who briefed State House correspondents after the meeting, said the contract was awarded at a cost of N551.8 million while the implementation is expected to last for 36 weeks.
“You know that the national freight office is usually located at border posts. So, this one is at the border post between Katsina and Niger Republic,” he said.
Amaechi also said from next year, the Nigerian government will encourage businesses to use rail instead of trucks to transport good between Lagos and Ibadan.
He said the measure is aimed at reducing pressure on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
The government is currently reconstructing the road and is also constructing a standard gauge rail line between the two states.
“We believe that by next year, we will begin to encourage those who transport by trucks between Lagos and Ibadan to use the rail.
“We believe that before the end of June, that will happen. We will start running from January but, we may not be able to carry enough cargo, we will be able to do that by June or July,” he said.
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