Nigeria - Few weeks from now, trains would be moving 2,700 metric tonnes of cement, the equivalent of about 81 trailer load of cement, across the country. The minister of transport, Senator Idris A. Umar, disclosed this at the weekend while flagging-off Lafarge Cement freight service at Ewekoro, Ogun State.
Represented by the Chairman Nigeria Railway Corporation Board Ambassador Ladan Shuni, the minister said that with the commencement of freight services by NRC, the pressure on the roads will reduce.
Lafarge is the first company to start hauling its product with trains following the return of freight services by the NRC. It lifts 600 metric tonnes to Ijoko and 150 metric tonnes to Agege per week.
With the formal flag-off, the Managing Director NRC Engr. Adeseyi Sijuwade said that additional 750 metric tonnes will be hauled to Ibadan weekly, adding that it will be followed with 600 metric tonnes to Ilorin and Oshogbo before the end of October.
He said that when the Kano-Jebba rail track is completed, the figure will improved to over 5000 metric tonnes as more cities in the north would be covered.
Speaking, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Lafarge WAPCO, Mr. Samy Abdelkader said his company will continue to partner with the Federal government in order to achieve the dream of self sufficiency and availability of cement in Nigeria.
He explained that the development is another way to demonstrate his company's support for the Federal government's policy of backward integration in the cement sub-sector.
He said: "Lafarge WAPCO is committed to making cement available to Nigerians at all times and this is why this partnership with the Nigerian Railway Corporation is very important to us. We are optimistic that the use of rail transport will go a long way to ensure that our products get to the final users in a safe, reliable and faster way."
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