The Nigerian Government says it has received Proof of Funds for a 4000 kilometre high speed rail project at the cost of $60 billion across the states of the federation.
The first phase, which spans 1,600 kilometers, will cover Lagos – Abuja – Kano, and Abuja- Port Harcourt, within a period of 36 Months.
Secretary to the Government, George Akume said this when he received a Proof of Funds document from De Sadel Consortium and Liangai Corporation, a Chinese company.
Akume said the move was in line with President Bola Tinubu’s massive reforms in the economic sector which makes business simple and easy.
Although he described De Sadel Consortium as a trusted firm, he noted that the document is subject to scrutiny in order to establish the real amount of money that is available.
“We don’t doubt them, but that is the normal procedure that government takes when huge sums of money are involved in such transactions,” he said.
According to him, Nigeria is ready for the project, as long as the Consortium is ready.
Bullet Train Project
The CEO, De Sadel Consortium, Mr Samuel Uko said that for the first time in ten years, the firm was getting 90% approval to handle the high speed rail bullet train project.
He said the first phase of the project which costs $55 billion will be funded by the Asian Development Investment Bank.
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“Today, $60 billion of proper funds have just been submitted to the government through our financial and technical partners. And the first phase of the project is $55 billion. So the fund is ready and the country is ready to move forward with this project,” Uko said.
He noted that part of the strategy will be to develop the gas sector first for easy accessibility to power for the project.
“Well, you cannot develop high-speed rail without developing the gas aspect of the economy. As we all know, we don’t have enough gas presently. So the raw material for high-speed rail is power. The raw material for power is gas. So we have to develop the gas aspect to be able to access more gas to power the high-speed rail project,” he added.
Mr Uko also narrated that the project is structured in a way that will give people early access to the speed train.
“When we get to the second, third state, the people from the first two states will start enjoying the speed train. So that is how it’s going to be in phases,” he added.
Attract Foreign Investors
Also present was the Minister of Transportation, Mr Sa’idu Alkali, who said President Bola Tinubu, had given all Ministers the marching order to attract foreign investors.
According to him, the mandate of the Ministry of Transportation is to provide safe, secure and affordable transportation systems.
Minister of State, Petroleum Resources (Gas), Mr Ekperikpe Ekpo, said the project was going to be a game changer for both parties.
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On the issue of availability of gas, he said Nigeria has 210 trillion cubic feet of gas that needs to be tapped and used in the process.
“Beyond this, in the deep sea, we have over 600 trillion cubic feet. If it is on the issue of gas, we have sufficient gas that needs to be used for the project. So I can assure the investors that they will not be lagging behind in terms of gas, which is the precursor of this very project,” Uko explained.
A Basic Prerequisite
Speaking further, Director General, Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, ICRC, Dr Jobson Ewalefoh, said the partnership was in line with the vision of the President, for the country, in streamlining the processes of carrying out Public Private Partnership.
He emphasised that the provision of proof of funds forms part of the requirements in ICRC for any investor planning to invest in Nigeria
“It’s one of the conditions we gave when we issued the Outline Business Case, the OPG certificate. And this has been going on for a long time.
“So the next stage for us now is to go ahead, review their submission, validate their claims, and see if truly, we have what it takes to make the project see the light of the day.
“For them to have come all the way from China to show the proof of funds, we think they are serious. And I think this is the beginning of great things that will happen in this country,” he said.