The contractors revealed this during the visit of the Minister of Transportation, Saidu Alkali, to the site for an on-the-spot inspection of the project in Kano State on Thursday.

This follows an update from the contractors, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation indicating that the line has been connected to the Zawaciki Dala Dry Port in Kano, the commercial hub of the state.

The minister stated that starting freight operations would extend the lifespan of the nation’s highways and help reduce the number of auto accident-related deaths among Nigerians.

Alkali noted significant progress compared to his first visit and expressed satisfaction with the pace of work.

He also revealed that the project would be divided into segments to facilitate smoother, more efficient, and quicker completion.

He noted, “This is the second leg of my inspection since I took over as the minister of Transportation and the essence of the inspection is to see by myself with a team from the Ministry of Transportation and Engineers from the Railway Corporation and the consultant and the contractors, so that we ensure compliance in term of time and in term of specifications.

But the impression I have from the last visit I came is that the progress is remarkable from what I have seen.

“We came all the way from Kano, we drove on the formation that they did, they are doing the earthwork and the culvert and this is a station where they have started preparing the rail lines and the slippers so that they will use their locomotive to convey the materials on the rail line.”

The minister also said that, “I have just discussed with the contractor, we are going to segment the project by the grace of God. We are going to put Kano-Daura next year and Daura to Maradi in 2026 and Dutse to Kano in 2026.”

The Minister noted that only God knows Nigeria’s next leader.

Amaechi who was a guest on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics explained that he is focussing on his job as a minister and would not want to be distracted.

“I am still the Minister for Transportation and only God can tell who will be the President of Nigeria in 2023,” the 58-year-old Minister said during the programme.