2023 budget: FG to spend N4.3bn on train purchases

2023 budget: FG to spend N4.3bn on train purchases

The Federal Government has proposed to spend a total of N4.3 billion in its N20.51 trillion budget on the purchase of trains to improve railway services across the nation.

This was part of the contents in the 2023 Federal Government budget submitted to the National Assembly last week.by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The figure, which is part of the federal government’s executive proposal in the 2023 Appropriation Bill, also earmarked N126.532 billion for the parent Ministry of Transportation.

A breakdown of the figure indicated that the Ministry of Transportation headquarters got N93.661 billion, while National Inland Waterways Authority, NIWA, was allocated N5.397 billion.

Others are Maritime Academy, Oron, which got N1.550 billion; Council for the Regulation Freight Forwarding in Nigeria had over N775 million.

The breakdown of the budget showed that N85. 228 billion was earmarked for construction/provision of railways while N15 million was allocated for construction/provision of waterways.

The ministry would spend most of its capital budget on ongoing projects some of which include: activities of Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit (ACTU) in the ministry and its agencies and entrenching transparency, compliance, ethics, achieving zero tolerance for corruption in the workplace, development of code of conduct, project monitoring for which it is proposing N30 million.

Also proposed by the Federal Government is the N30. 759 billion for completion of Abuja-Kaduna; completion of Lagos-Ibadan and its associated additional works; rehabilitation of Itakpe-Ajaokuta rail line and construction of 12 NOS station buildings and tracks laying works at railway ancillary facilities area Agbor, among others.