The former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, revealed that the Kajola Locomotive and Wagon Rolling Stock Depot in Ogun State, designed to boost local production and reduce foreign exchange dependency, has been abandoned by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), despite its critical importance to Nigeria’s railway sector.
Ameachi revealed this on Thursday at the Transport Summit organized by the Transportation Correspondents Association of Nigeria (TCAN), held at Radisson Hotel, Lagos.
Speaking as the keynote speaker, he explained that the facility was built to ensure Nigeria could locally produce wagons and rolling stock to support the country’s railway projects.
Amaechi noted that the plant, commissioned under the administration of President Buhari, was not part of the Lagos-Ibadan rail project but was insisted upon as a condition for awarding Chinese contractors a 200 Rolling Stock supply contract.
He emphasized that the plant was a critical part of the country’s efforts to foster knowledge transfer and reduce foreign exchange dependency through local production.
The former minister lamented that despite its potential to create jobs and boost local manufacturing, the plant is currently inactive. “Until we continue to invest in transportation, we might never get it right in this country,” he said.
Other speakers at the event, including Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, and Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Oluwaseun Osiyemi, stressed the need for integrated intermodal transport systems.
For instance, Oyetola highlighted the importance of linking ports to road, rail, and waterways to improve trade, while Osiyemi underscored the state’s commitment to creating a sustainable, multimodal transportation system in Lagos.
