Cross River Embarks on $36m Mono Rail Project

 26th APR 2007

The first mono-rail project in Africa being planned for Calabar in Cross River State will cost $36 million (N4.5 billion). The project, which is referred to as the Calabar mono-rail will link the Margaret Ekpo International Airport to Tinapa, covering a distance of 12.9km.

Performing the ground breaking of the project yesterday in Calabar, the Cross River State Governor, Mr. Donald Duke said the rail project would be funded by the African EXIM Bank, with assistance from Guaranteed Trust Bank (GTB). He said 100 per cent of the funds for the project, which has been incorporated, is ready and study shows that it would be paid back within 4 to 5 years just as the manufacturing of the parts have started.

He further explained that the first phase of the mono-rail project " will take us to Tinapa and later will take us to the length and breath of Calabar". Duke, who breezed in from Abuja to do the ground breaking, said, " we are building this mono-rail project because we dread the traffic that will come to Calabar in future considering of tourists and visitors to Tinapa and the number of cars, hence we had to think of something radical".

Further justifying the need for the mono-rail project, Duke said present airport in Calabar would remain a local facility while the new one proposed by the Federal Government will be an International and cargo airport. He said already, a site has been found for the new airport in Akamkpa, the outskirts of Calabar and "by next month there will be ground breaking for it".

The Project Manager of the project, Mr Wolfgand Hangs said the scheme was conceived since 2005 and when completed, the train will carry automatic doors, air-conditioners, television system and can be manually operated or without a driver. He noted that the project involves building of the tracks and manufacturing of the train which will be designed to meet world class standard.

First, he said the project will start with one train capable of carrying 110 to 115 passengers at a time with a speed of 60 kilometres per hour. There will be four stations, namely, Airport, Hotel Tinapa, shopping complex and the Tinapa leisure/water park.

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