By Abdullahi M. Gulloma
Abuja
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved a N30 billion intervention fund for the development of mining sector in the country, Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Kayode Fayemi, has said.
The council also approved the engagement of a team of international advisors to negotiate the concession of a 3,500 kilometres stretch of standard rail gauge tracks criss-crossing the country with General Electric (GE).
Addressing State House correspondents at the end of the FEC meeting yesterday in Abuja, Fayemi said the approval was part of the present administration’s efforts to diverse the economy.
He said the N30 billion intervention fund would be used for exploration of solid minerals in the country to give a boost to the activities of the sector as federal government intends to raise revenue through diverse sources.
He said the fund, a part of 1.68 percentage deductions from the Federation Account, would also be used to tackle issues relating to illegal mining, security, environmental and multi-sectional issues at ministerial coordination level.
“If we really must attract mining investment into the country, we need investment grade geological data for those who are in mining to be engaged in the sector”.
On the concession of the 3,500 kilometres standard rail gauge tracks, Minister of Transport, Rotimi Ameachi, said the team of advisors would negotiate with General Electric and come up with the most favourable deal for the country.
“Council approved the advisers that would sit with GE as our own experts to negotiate. GE is proposing to manage for 25 years to recover their investments. Nigerian government has not agreed and that is what our advisers will sit with GE to agree on. African Finance Cooperation, a multilateral finance institution is one of the engaged advisors,” he said.
“GE will do everything required to rehabilitate investments and other railway infrastructure. We are rehabilitating at no cost to government the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri which include Port Harcourt, Aba, Umuahia, Enugu, Makurdi, Jos, Gombe, Bauchi to Borno. Then Lagos to Kano will include Lagos, Abeokuta, Ibadan, Ilorin, Kano, Funtua, Zaria and to Kauranamuda, we are rehabilitating all of them,” he said.