By Emmanuel Kwada
Borno State Governor, Babagana Umara Zulum, has launched a groundbreaking project to construct an intra-city rail network connecting Maiduguri and its environs. This pioneering initiative makes Borno the first among Nigeria’s 19 northern states to embark on such a project.
The rail network’s first phase will feature 12 terminals within Maiduguri, linking major markets, schools, public spaces, and economically viable locations. This project aims to facilitate seamless passenger and goods movement, boost economic activities, and open up economic corridors across the state.
According to Borno’s Commissioner for Transport and Energy, Aliyu Mohammed Bamanga, feasibility studies, environmental risk assessments, and community consultations are underway to ensure the project’s success. Bamanga noted that the project will ease transportation, revitalize the economy, create jobs, and re-engineer the city’s transportation network.
The project will ease transportation, revitalize the economy, create jobs, and re-engineer the city’s transportation network
Governor Zulum’s innovative intra-city rail project will provide an alternative, cost-effective, energy-efficient, and environmentally friendly transportation solution. This project will also support other ongoing transport infrastructure projects, including the 113-kilometer Maiduguri East, West, and South ring roads expansion.
This project will also support other ongoing transport infrastructure projects, including the 113-kilometer Maiduguri East, West, and South ring roads expansion
Zulum’s administration has previously introduced electric and gas-powered taxis and buses at subsidized rates to cushion the effects of the fuel subsidy removal. The governor has also embarked on various urban and rural infrastructure projects across the state, demonstrating his commitment to restoring peace and prosperity to Borno after over a decade of Boko Haram insurgency.
