President Muhammadu Buhari has said the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri railway would reactivate economic activities along the Eastern corridor.

Buhari said this on Tuesday at the virtual ground-breaking ceremony of the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Port Harcourt-Maiduguri Eastern Narrow Gauge rail project, the Bonny Deep Sea Port and the Railway Industrial Park in Port Harcourt.

The 2044.1 kilometre rail line would cost $3.2 billion, while extending to cover a total of 12 states, officials said.

“The connection of the railway to a new seaport in Bonny Island and Railway Industrial Park, Port Harcourt, is designed to increase the viability and boost trans-shipment of cargo and freight locally, across the West African sub-region and in the Continental Free Trade Area.

“The sum of the socio-economic and environmental benefits of these projects includes creation of massive employment locally,” he said in a statement by his spokesman, Femi Adesina.

Buhari also said the rail line project with new branch lines to Owerri, Imo State, and Damaturu, Yobe State, would resuscitate the once vibrant railway transportation in the Eastern railway corridor.

The Minister of Transport Rotimi Amaechi said the seaport and park are being developed through direct investment by a conglomerate led by Messrs CCECC Nigeria Limited with a total investment portfolio of $700 million.

On the railway, he said upon completion, trains on the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri Eastern Narrow Gauge Railway will run at 60-80 kilometres per hour and 80-100 kilometres per hour for freight and passenger respectively.

“The rail line connection from Enugu to Awka-Onitsha and Abakaliki is undergoing necessary feasibility studies and preparation of conceptual design,” he said.

Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Engr. Fidet Okhiria described the project as an improved narrow gauge, disclosing that the project would last for a period of 36 months, but stated that they are pushing for the project to be delivered in 30 months.