Kano-Maradi Project: FG Requests Mota-Engil to Consider CNG, LPG in Procuring Railway Engines

Kasim Sumaina in Abuja

The federal government has asked Mota-Engil, Nigeria Limited, the Contractor handling Kano-Maradi railway project to consider procuring Compressed National Gas (CNG) and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) as against Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) engines for the rail line Rolling Stock for more environmentally-friendly operators.

The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Transportation, Dr. Magdalene Ajani, disclosed this while signing an agreement on behalf of the Government for Mota-Eñgil, Nigeria Limited, to supply Rolling Stocks, Operations and Maintenance Equipment for Kano-Maradi Standard Rail Line.

Ajani, in a statement yesterday, issued in Abuja, by the Ministry’s Director of Press, Henshaw Ogubike, while acknowledging the fact that it may not have been in the original agreement and may attract additional cost, pointed out that it was the right way to go in checking the harmful effect of global warming.

Responding, the Executive Director, Mota-Engil, Pedro Pereira, assured the Permanent Secretary that the request for a more environmentally-friendly energy source would be considered and complied with accordingly.

The statement further noted that the Director, Legal Services, Federal Ministry of Transportation, Pius Oteh, had earlier outlined the regulatory process leading to the Agreement-signing ceremony, which included the issuance of a Certificate of ‘No Objection’ by the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP); the approval of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and the approval of the draft Agreement by the Office of the Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation & Minister of Justice.

According to him, “the federal government decided to award the contract for the procurement of the Rolling Stock to the company at this time in order to ensure a seamless transition from construction to operational phase upon the completion of construction of the Kano – Maradi Rail line in a few years time.”