N45b disbursed for Blue Line project, says CBN

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N45b disbursed for Blue Line project, says CBN

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has pledged it would continue to fund railway projects by the Lagos State Government, even as it stated that N45 billion has been disbursed for the Blue Line project in the state.

Director, Development Finance, CBN, Yusuf Philip Yila, revealed this, yesterday, in Lagos during an inspection of the Blue Line project managed by Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA).

Yila, who took a tour to the Marina site, said CBN undertook the inspection to monitor and evaluate progress of the project.

The apex bank, through some banks, provided funding under the Differentiated Cash Reserves Requirement (DCRR) intervention to ensure Lagos State has the right funding for this project.

He said: “The total amount we have made available for this Line is N60 billion. We have disbursed N45 billion. There’s another tranche of N15 billion. So, we see that the progress of the job matches the funding so far. This is just one of the projects under the DCRR intervention. As part of our response to COVID-19, we released N1 trillion.

“We are confident, based on what has been shown, that progress has been made. Disbursement of the funding is being done in tranches. So, another tranche is due. As the central bank, we felt it is important to come and see what is on ground and the quality of work is quite impressive.

“They have shown us some of the technical details. For me, what I see is the number of jobs provided; young people working in Nigeria, welding, fabricating. There are over 500 jobs on site here, which is a good takeaway. I am happy, having met some of the people on site and across other stations.”

Access, Sterling and Fidelity Banks are the participating financial institutions in the project.

Managing Director, LAMATA, Mrs. Abimbola Akinajo, said the Blue Line is a 27-kilometre stretch from Okokomaiko to Marina being constructed in the first phase.

She said the vision of the state is to complete the project in the fourth quarter of 2022.