Warri-Itakpe-Ajaokuta rail line completed- Minister

The Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Mr Bawa Bwari has disclosed that one of the key infrastructures required for the operation of the Ajaokuta Steel Complex, the Warri-Itakpe-Ajaokuta rail line, has been completed.

Mr Bawa Bwari, made this disclosure at the Nigeria Mining Week, which opened in Abuja on Monday.

The minister also stated that work on the central rail corridor linking Ajaokuta with Abuja had begun.

He said, “The dredging of the River Niger has been completed, while work at the Warri Port and the Escravos Channel is about to be completed. These works will facilitate export and import of goods through the Warri Port using flat bottom vessels.

“The Central Corridor Railway Line linking the Warri Port to Abuja through the North Central, home to iron ore, steel plants, coal resources and pegmatite bearing lithium, is also under construction.

“The rail line from the Warri Port through Ajaokuta to Itakpe is already completed. The completion of the ongoing works in the Warri Port and Escravos will ease access to the deep sea and open up business opportunities for Ajaokuta and Delta steel plants by paving way for the shipment of bulk goods to and from seaports.”

The minister listed other ongoing projects of great significance to the Nigerian mining sector to include the upgrade and automation of the Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office for online applications.

Others are the construction of modern archiving system that will facilitate the dissemination of high quality pre-competitive geo data information and the upgrade of the Nigeria Geological Survey Agency laboratory to the International Standards Organisation’s standard.

Bwari said that following the steps taken by the Federal Government, there had been renewed interest in formal mining in Nigeria.

He added that the number of mineral titles held by serious investors had been on the rise.