FG threatens CCECC for non-funding of railway projects
The federal government has threatened to sanction the China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) for the company's alleged failure to provide 85% matching funding for rail projects in parts of the country.
Transport Minister Muazu Sambo on Saturday denounced the slow pace of work on the Kanu-Kaduna and Maiduguri-Port Harcourt railway lines.
Sambo gave the warning on Saturday during a briefing to journalists in Lagos at the end of a visit to the deep seaport of Lekki to check on the level of work carried out so far.
Sambo, who disagreed with the Chinese company's attitude, said that two years after signing the agreement, CCECC has not provided any of its 85% matching funds.
According to him, the agreement stipulates that the CCECC must provide 85% of the cost of the project while the federal government provides the remaining 15%.
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He said, "I've given them until October 2022 to fulfill their own part of the deal, otherwise they'll face a severe penalty.
"How can we say that two years after the signing of the agreement, the CCECC has still not provided a dollar?"
Recall that the former Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, in March accused the company of playing politics with the Kanu-Kaduna rail project, urging the entrepreneur to finance the project.
Amaechi said, "The pace is extremely slow, the pieces of equipment are supposed to be over 2,000, but what they (CCECC) have brought so far is 541, they claim 300 and something equipment are in Kaduna. I will send people to check. Even if you add it all up, you will have 800 equipment and something instead of the 2000 equipment they are supposed to bring. That means something not going somewhere.
“I know they (CCECC) claim there is no money, that we did not fund them. But what about their responsibility in the contract that they are going to get the money?
"The CCECC hasn't brought any money. The Chinese haven't given us any more money for more than three or four years."
Recall that the China Exim Bank borrowed $500 million from the federal government for the Abuja-Kaduna train and also borrowed $1.5 billion from the country for the Lagos-Ibadan rail project
The federal government has threatened to sanction the China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) for the company's alleged failure to provide 85% matching funding for rail projects in parts of the country.
Transport Minister Muazu Sambo on Saturday denounced the slow pace of work on the Kanu-Kaduna and Maiduguri-Port Harcourt railway lines.
Sambo gave the warning on Saturday during a briefing to journalists in Lagos at the end of a visit to the deep seaport of Lekki to check on the level of work carried out so far.
Sambo, who disagreed with the Chinese company's attitude, said that two years after signing the agreement, CCECC has not provided any of its 85% matching funds.
According to him, the agreement stipulates that the CCECC must provide 85% of the cost of the project while the federal government provides the remaining 15%.
ALSO READ FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
He said, "I've given them until October 2022 to fulfill their own part of the deal, otherwise they'll face a severe penalty.
"How can we say that two years after the signing of the agreement, the CCECC has still not provided a dollar?"
Recall that the former Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, in March accused the company of playing politics with the Kanu-Kaduna rail project, urging the entrepreneur to finance the project.
Amaechi said, "The pace is extremely slow, the pieces of equipment are supposed to be over 2,000, but what they (CCECC) have brought so far is 541, they claim 300 and something equipment are in Kaduna. I will send people to check. Even if you add it all up, you will have 800 equipment and something instead of the 2000 equipment they are supposed to bring. That means something not going somewhere.
“I know they (CCECC) claim there is no money, that we did not fund them. But what about their responsibility in the contract that they are going to get the money?
"The CCECC hasn't brought any money. The Chinese haven't given us any more money for more than three or four years."
Recall that the China Exim Bank borrowed $500 million from the federal government for the Abuja-Kaduna train and also borrowed $1.5 billion from the country for the Lagos-Ibadan rail project
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