Senator Sa’idu Ahmed Alkali, Minister of Transportation, has revealed that Muhammadu Buhari University, Daura in Katsina State, will begin academic activities in October of this year.
On Friday, he revealed this while leading a delegation from his ministry on an inspection tour of the school’s permanent site in Daura.
The minister also stated that the school had already submitted its courses to the National Universities Commission (NUC) for approval and the number of students to be admitted.
I hereby commend the China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) for constructing this university as part of their corporate social responsibility, Alkali said. I’d like to challenge other businesses to follow in their footsteps by constructing a school, hospital, or something similar.
We are also appealing to the company to assist the university with a takeoff grant to enable it to begin full operations as planned, the minister said.
Professor Umar Adamu Katsayal, the university’s new Vice-Chancellor, said the university had been provided with modern learning facilities, including a hostel for male and female students.
Meanwhile, the minister has stated that the Kano-Katsina-Maradi rail line will be finished by 2025.
He also expressed his appreciation for the contractors’ efforts thus far.
He made the remarks on Friday in Daura, Katsina state, while leading an inspection tour of the ministry to the 387-kilometer rail project awarded by former President Muhammadu Buhari.
The minister said;
Actually I am impressed with what I have seen so far. We came all the way from Dawanau (in Kano) to where we are (Daura) so that we can assess the level of the execution of the work in compliance with the specification of the contractor.
From Kano to here, almost all the major part of the site clearance has been done and I am pleased with what I have seen.
Former President Buhari presided over the groundbreaking ceremony for the standard gauge rail line project in February 2021. However, work did not begin in earnest until last year.
The railway line runs 387 kilometres from Kano to Maradi in Southern Niger Republic, with a branch line connecting Kano to Dutse.
Similarly, a 93-kilometer branch line will connect Dutse, Jigawa State’s capital, to Kano.
Mota Engil, a Portuguese construction company, was awarded the project for $1.959 billion.