Last January, Lagos State acquired a series of 8 Talgo trains for the red line in Wisconsin. These trains were originally purchased by Governor Scott Walker in 2009 from a Spanish manufacturer for $47 million but were never used due to a lawsuit with a contractor.
The steel used for constructing the rail tracks is called carbon steel with a diameter of 1084. It costs $1,630 per metric tonne and 782 tonnes are needed to construct 1km of rail track. When multiplied by 37 km, this results in a total cost of construction of $47,315,160.
The total cost of engineering, procurement, and construction for the rolling stock, elevated tracks, stations, and fare collection equipment should not exceed $150 million.
In 2009, the Asian Development Bank awarded a project for a 75km single track at $2.2 million per km, for a total cost of $170 million. Meanwhile, in 2009, Libya awarded a project to the Chinese Railway Construction Company to construct 172 km of standard gauge for $4.7 million per km, at a total cost of $805 million.
It is puzzling why Lagos has the highest EPC cost for building a monorail line at $37 million per km compared to the global average of $2.5-4 million, as well as being sanctioned by the Program for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA). Lagos has the highest IGR to FAAC ratio at 76:24, meaning 76% of the revenues of #548 billion generated in IGR in comparison to the #196 billion generated in FAAC allocation is taxes from hardworking Lagosians. However, this is less than the #807 billion in debt acquired to fund deficits. It is important that the people know how their taxes are being spent.
