Malam Muhammad Bello, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has guaranteed locals that the Abuja Light Rail will resume operations before the conclusion of his term in May 2023.
The minister gave the assurance when he featured in the 20th Edition of President Buhari Administration Scorecard Series, organised by the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture in Abuja.
Bello said another important milestone achievement of President Buhari’s administration is the infrastructure development of the Abuja Light Rail, adding that when they came in in 2015, about 52 percent of the projects were done and they have pushed it to 100 percent.
“Many of you will want to wonder why the Abuja Light Rail is not working, it is not working now because of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We had to stop the operation because as you know the light train system is a mass movement, so if you don’t have much sitting capacity many people will stand up and when you stand up you face each other.
“So, it was very difficult to maintain a social distance but we are done with that all the carriages are here, and by the grace of God before we leave it will resume,” he said.
The minister further disclosed that about 12 stations have been completed and about five of them the roads are under construction.
“These are works we do in the satellite town because the structure of the FCT is that we have developed in the urban area that is the Federal Capital City (FCC), as well as development in the satellite towns.
“But the standards we maintain for infrastructure for the Federal Capital City itself is the same that we maintain in the satellite towns, no difference whatsoever,” Bello said.