The government of Anambra State has concluded arrangements to introduce a rail transport system aimed at enhancing distribution of goods, commerce and movement of people across the state.
This was made public by the Managing Director, state Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Arch. Okey Ezeobi who revealed that the state government has engaged an international infrastructure development firm to design the rail master plan.
Addressing journalists yesterday in Awka, during a press briefing ahead of a six-day capacity building series on ‘Theory And Practice of Public Procurement For Local Government Stakeholders,’ Ezeobi said the firm, CPCS Transcom Limited, based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, has been chosen from 10 international organisations that applied for the design.
According to him, investors were already waiting for the master plan implementation in view of the bankability and feasibility study on the railway initiative.
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Ezeobi said: ‘The state government has commenced payment for the master plan design, which will take railways to the boundaries of the state. With the rails, moving containers from the ports will be cheaper and faster.
‘We looked at their track record after considering the technical bids, the financial bids, their domestic experience before arriving at the CPCS.
‘It is also instructive to note that the firm had acclaimed Anambra, under Governor Chukwuma Soludo, as a forward-thinking state.’
Speaking on the capacity building series, Ezeobi assured that it would encourage accountability and transparency in public funds utilisation in line with Soludo’s vision to ensure adequate value for money.
He said that the new direction and changes in Soludo’s government is one that will restore public trust, as people are now aware of how their resources are spent, adding that ‘procurement’ is a process that must reflect accountability and transparency.
He insisted that local council leadership must be accountable in their handling of public funds, assuring that plans had reached an advanced stage to absorb local council staff into BPP to ensure proper training on procurement.
