“We should not waste this opportunity of having this commission. Adopt a one-point agenda, such as the south east rail network to connect all the state capitals, deliver it, and go to the second-point agenda. If you open a floodgate that you want to achieve over 50 important matters, where you sprinkle on all the matters and in five years, some projects will be abandoned; and you will ask yourself, what did you achieve’’, Governor Soludo admonished the leadership of SEDC. Governor Soludo’s advice is apt.
Linking the south eastern states with a railway infrastructure will not only improve a common market in the region, it will catapult the region’s socio-economic prosperity. A railway and a ring road that connects all the major cities of the south east will improve mobility, create jobs and even improve security in the region. It will reduce the pressure on roads in the region and will also help in the haulage of heavy goods – this will help south eastern roads to last longer. But it will not be an easy feat to achieve this rail and road infrastructure. This is why Governor Soludo’s advice to SEDC to focus on one big objective at any point in time is something the commission needs to think seriously about.
Despite the fact that railway development is on the concurrent list in Nigeria’s constitution, no south eastern state has been able to effectively develop its own intracity and intercity railway network. When compared to Lagos – which has been able to develop an intracity/intercity railway system – south eastern states have a lot of catch up to do. (Today, Lagos has the Red Line and Blue Line railway mass transit systems. The state has plans to include an Orange Line and four additional lines to its railway system. Many thanks to the visionary leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who birthed this idea and started the development when he was governor).
With the visionary and dynamic leadership of Governor Soludo, Anambra is determined to catch up with Lagos. The Canadian engineering company, CPCS, which designed Anambra’s railway masterplan was involved in the engineering of Lagos’s Blue Line project since 2008. CPCS developed Lagos’s Blue Line concept and the project implementation plan. 13 km of the 27km Blue Line has since been inaugurated. At its peak, the Blue Line is expected to carry 500,000 passengers daily.
For the Anambra railway system, CPCS carried out its feasibility study, conceptual design and final rail masterplan. The next phase would be for stakeholders to take the final investment decision. This railway system will boost the GDP of Anambra by many folds.
Anambra intends to start with the connection of its four major cities with this proposed railway infrastructure. Afterwards, there would be railway spurs to other towns and cities within the state. Governor Soludo is determined to do this within the shortest possible time.
Ultimately, intracity/intercity railways in south eastern states should be able to connect the federal government’s Eastern Railway project. This will aid the long-term growth of the region whose population is expected to grow phenomenally from its current population according to recent studies.
The cost of railway development could be prohibitive but the south east needs railway. The region needs governors like Governor Soludo, who are big thinkers. In the coming months, Anambra will come up with the detailed economic model for its railway development system.
A full intracity railway system will not be easy to map out from design papers to ground. This is because some residents might have built properties haphazardly and even build on lands not meant for building development. This is common in many states in Nigeria. But Governor Soludo is ready to lead an honest and sincere conversation with the people of Anambra. At the end, everyone will be winners. It is all about the long-term prosperity of Anambra.
The future of Anambra is very bright under Governor Soludo’s watch.
Nwankwo is the special adviser to Soludo on special projects
Views expressed by contributors are strictly personal and not of TheCable.
