…Cites major road, health infrastructure gains across Northern Nigeria
The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to completing the Kaduna-Kano Standard Gauge Rail Line by 2026, Minister of Transportation Sa’idu Ahmed Alkali has said.
Addressing participants at an ongoing government-citizen engagement forum in Kaduna, Alkali disclosed that when President Bola Tinubu assumed office on May 29, 2023, the rail project had reached only 15 percent completion. He confirmed that the project now stands at 53 percent, reflecting a marked improvement in delivery.
He explained that funding to expedite the construction was secured through a bilateral financing arrangement with the Chinese government, enabling sustained progress on the key transport corridor.
Alkali also revealed that the Federal Government has completed 135 road projects across northern Nigeria under its ongoing infrastructure renewal programme.
He stated that 216 road construction projects are currently underway across the region, while 312 road maintenance works have been concluded, with an additional 50 still in progress.
The Minister listed several large-scale infrastructure projects currently being executed across the country. These include the Sokoto–Badagry Superhighway, Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway, Calabar–Abuja Superhighway, and the Akwanga–Jos–Bauchi–Gombe Road.
He added that 14 road projects have been completed and commissioned in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), alongside the Greater Abuja Water Supply Network Project. Other achievements in the FCT include the construction and rehabilitation of multiple primary and secondary schools and the commissioning of three modern bus terminals.
Alkali said additional road construction, rehabilitation, and expansion initiatives are progressing across the country in line with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Also speaking at the forum, Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, outlined the Federal Government’s accomplishments in the healthcare sector.
Pate said that over N20 billion has been disbursed through the Basic Health Care Provision Fund to support 4,362 primary healthcare centres across the 19 Northern states and the FCT over the past two years.
In his presentation, the Minister noted that 274 projects have been executed across 35 tertiary hospitals in northern Nigeria, which currently cater to more than 4.5 million outpatients and 1.6 million inpatients.
He described the Tinubu administration’s efforts in health as action-driven, with major investments in infrastructure at all levels of care delivery being implemented nationwide.
