London, May 25, 2018 (AltAfrika)-The Federal Government said yesterday that work would commence properly on the Lagos corridor of the $1.5bn Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge project by next month.

Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, disclosed this while speaking with journalists in Ikere town, Ogun State during inspection tour of the project.

He said two bridges and 11 kilometres of track-laying would have been completed by next month.

Daily Trust reports that the laying of tracks commenced in the first week of May around Papalanto in Ogun State.

The minister said though the China Civil Engineering and Construction Company (CCECC), the contractor handling the project, has been complaining about natural occurrence like rain slowing down the project, the December 2018 deadline has not changed.

Amaechi commended the response of Lagos State in removing some challenges like the water pipes hindering the smooth progress of work.

“We believe that by next month, we should have started working from the Lagos area. We already have a solution for the gas and crude oil pipelines. The engineers have confirmed to me that the solutions that they have found will address all the issues surrounding these encumbrances,” he said.