THE Kazaure-Daura, Dutse-Kazaure and Daura railway projects will be completed by 2026, according to the Minister of Transportation, Sa’idu Alkali.
The minister disclosed this when he inspected the projects during a courtesy visit to the Federal University of Transportation, Daura, Katsina State on Thursday.
During the inspection, the minister said the projects were going as planned.
“From the assessment of the last visit I have done, the contractor has done well and by the grace of God, we are going to put Kano -Kazaure segment by next year, and Kazaure to Daura and Dutse to Kazaure and eventually to Daura by 2026”, he noted.
“When I took over as Minister of Transportation, I was directed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to continue with all the existing contracts and to sustain the contracts in the ministry.
“I went out for an inspection tour of all the railway projects in the ministry
“Now, I came to the Federal University of Transportation Daura which was constructed by a Chinese Company. When I came, I met a very beautiful edifice but unfortunately, only a Vice-Chancellor was appointed and you know a university needs four principal staff for take-off which include: The Vice-Chancellor, the Bursar, the Librarian and the Registrar.
“So what I did was to approach the National Universities Commission to appoint a mentor university for us so that we will be able to start admission against 2023/2024 academic year. The NUC appointed ABU to mentor the Federal University of Transportation Daura.
“So far, after the accreditation, the university admitted over 500 students enlisted in 14 different disciplines. We have started the admission and we outsourced lecturers on a visiting basis.
“So you can see, lectures have commenced, we have gone round to see the lecture theatres, we even attended a session of the lectures.
“I am impressed with the project. The contractor has done well, however, there are a lot of challenges like water, electricity and we are on top of the situation to fix the university to the national grid and we find a lasting solution to the water problem”, the minister disclosed.
He assured of the Federal Government’s commitment to link the narrow gate from Lagos to Kano dry port, as part of measures to save roads and reduce the menace of road traffic accidents.
This, according to the minister, also goes a long way in boosting the GDP growth of the country.
The inspection was led by the University’s Pioneer Vice Chancellor, Professor Umar Katsayal.
He explained that the university had so far, admitted over 500 students enlisted into 14 different disciplines, stating that the university had also outsourced lecturers on a visiting basis.
Meanwhile, two of the pioneer students of the university, Bello Musawa and Ahmed Aminu, have appealed to the Federal Government, to as a matter of urgency, fix the electricity and water challenges facing the university.
They called for an intervention when the Minister of Transportation paid a visit to the university for an inspection on Thursday.
According to them, the intervention was necessary due to the high temperatures being experienced in the area.
They also stressed the need for more tree plantations in the university compound to ensure the free flow of oxygen in the university.