Rivers MONORAIL of controversy and why it might end up as an unprofitable and unsustainable investment/project. Each time I see this monorail project, I get really angry at Gov. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi and his government for falling for this kind of scam. From my investigations, these are the 13 major reasons why the MONORAIL project will fail. They are equally reasons why CRA should be arrested and jailed after the expiration of his immunity. 1 The Rivers State Government seemed to have accepted the proposal due to is aesthetic appearance without putting the economic sustainability into consideration. Also, the government officials (as usual) seemed to have been more particular about their percentage (from the contract) rather than its usefulness to the state. Remember the higher the contract sum, the higher the official’s percentage. 2 The present coverage of the monorail (phase 1A) is 2.6km. By Port Harcourt standard, the standard charge for such a distance is 50Naira per person. And even at this amount, an average bus and taxi finds it difficult to have a full load on this route due to its nature. 3 A bus/taxi has the benefit of stopping and picking up passengers at any point at the passenger’s command. The monorail doesn’t have such capability! You must stop at the next train station. This is one reason why people will prefer their usual bus/taxi to a high flying train. 4 The present rail route (where the train will kick off) hosts many establishments including the government house, NNPC, Silverbird, State Secretariat, NIPOST, CBN, Bank headquarters, etc. Yet, the train does not seem to have a stopping point. It can neither pick nor drop passengers on the road (I mean on the air), it must take you to its next station. In other words, if you are going to government house or NNPC or CBN, you cannot use the monorail, you must use a taxi! Except you will use the monorail, after which, use a taxi. 5 The government claims that the train has a capacity of 46 passengers, 102 (standing) and a total train capacity of 148 passengers! How many impatient Nigerians go wait for dat kind train to full before they set out for a 2.6km 50 Naira journey? Even bus nor dey full, people don dey complain say dem wan come down! Especially the market women. 6 The project is worth $318million. So the state government claims. The contractor (Alcon) handling the mechanical and electrical aspect of the project claims their part was awarded for mere $9.3million. Check its website for further details. 7 The monorail will be electrically driven. Na here the wahala dey. Port Harcourt has no steady power supply. Therefore the monorail will have to depend on its own generated power. I can assure you, the money the monorail will make in a month will not be sufficient to power the train stations in a day! How many 50Nairas the train go fit generate in a day to power the operation. 8 Due to the nature of the monorail and the size of its pillars, future expansion of the Silverbird-Lagos road might become improbable and herculean. 9 The amount spent on the monorail is enough to dualize the major roads in Port Harcourt into eight lanes and decongest traffic! Yes, money for eight lanes is what is spent on a 2.6km monorail. 10 The monorail would have been realistically profitable if it was so designed to cut across the entire state. That is connecting Choba to Mile 3, Elele to Rumuokoro, Eleme to Rumuola, etc. I hear they have such plans sha, but for now, the $318million is for how many kilometer coverage? You already know that. You can visit the site with a tape to measure for yourself. 11 The cost of each pillar is enough to change not just your life but your entire village outlook forever! There are more than hundred pillars and many more to come. 12 Although the government is yet to release its fares, but I can bet on it. Those who will afford the train fare will prefer a bus or taxi. And those who will find the train as luxury will certainly have a personal car and comfort and might not see the need for such public luxury. 13 The monorail might fail if it is handed over to private management. The monorail will fail if it handled by civil servants. By ‘fail’ I mean, the possibility of the monorail to reach a breakeven point even six months after its initial operation. Except the government extends the route to cover the entire Rivers State, the project remains unprofitable (on a 2.6km movement). Like I said earlier, you can only appreciate the Rivers Monorail project from an aesthetic angle. From the economic angle, it is a wrong investment with no possible return on investment in the next two hundred years! Anyway, let us hope that I am wrong and the Rivers State Government is right. How can a government be so gullible?
Posted on: Fri, 19 Dec 2014 07:17:22 +0000