Indications have emerged that the
ongoing monorail construction in Rivers State will be launched in
October as proposed by the state government as the project appears to
have entered its final stage of rail installment on the track.
The monorail project had become a subject of political controversy in
the state as many of the opposition to Governor Rotimi Amaechi had
dismissed it as a wasted effort and resources because it was not going
to fly, especially given the slow pace of work on site.
But Amaechi had continued to dismiss any such misgiving, saying even if
that was the last thing he would do before leaving office on May 29,
next year, he would make sure it is realised.
Reiterating this commitment recently, Amaechi told journalists in Port
Hacourt, the state capital, that the “Monorail would be completed. The
reason the monorail must be completed at all costs is political. I want
to ride in the monorail and call the Amaechi haters to come and see that
I am riding on the monorail.
“Even if it is May 29, 2015, people will ride on the monorail. We would
hang the rail. What is delaying the monorail is just the terminal where
they would maintain it. That is what they are fixing now, once they fix
that, it will be ready,” he explained.
However, walking his talk, it was noticed at the weekend that the
contractor had started to hang the rail on the tracks, a move that might
have confirmed the fact that the first phase of the project would be
completed before the Amaechi administration leaves office next year.
“I personally believe the governor means business as far as the project
is concerned. And if you check, he has always said it; that he would
not leave the project abandoned. That means it is a done deal. Now, we
can confirm this because we can see the rail being put on track. That is
commendable and we hope to ride on it soon,” said a resident of old
GRA, Port Harcourt.
