Five years after the foundation stone for the first monorail project in Cross River State was laid, the multi-million project is yet to take off, raising fears that the administration might have changed its mind on the scheme.
The ground breaking for the multi-million project was done in the last days of the Donald Duke administration in 2007, when the incumbent governor was about to be inaugurated.
The first phase of the 12.9-kilometre project was expected to cover the state’s business hub at Tinapa and the Margaret Ekpo International Airport, while the second phase would have been extended to all parts of the state.
But findings by our correspondent reveal that the project has not witnessed any progress beyond where Duke stopped five years ago.
Although Duke’s successor, Imoke, had given the assurance that his administration would take on the project with effect from the 2009 fiscal year, he has not matched his promise with action till date.
But apparently worried by public criticism, the state government had again said that the project will now be completed in 2014.
The Special Assistant to the Governor on Special Projects, Mr. Clement Akwaji, gave the new deadline when he spoke with journalists in Calabar.
Akwaji denied insinuations that the state had abandoned the project, which he described as very vital to the state and its people, insisting that efforts were in top gear to get it off the ground.
He said the Imoke-led administration was conscious of the need to complete the mega project so as to cater for the large number of visitors and tourists to the state.
The SA however said that the government was weighing certain issues, including low activities at Tinapa and low returns on investments at the business resort before taking a final decision on the project.
He said the government needed to resolve the contentious issues before getting a concession agreement for the project.