Can the governors of Anambra and Delta states please visit Istanbul to see how the Turks are building tunnels under the Straits of Bosporus and replicate it on the River Niger

Ayo Akinfe

[1] While we are celebrating the second River Niger bridge, do my people know they Turkey is about to construct the third tunnel connecting the European and Asian sides of Istanbul, officially named the Great Istanbul Tunnel by the government

[2] This new tunnel will be put into service in 2028. It will have the capacity to serve 1.3m passengers on a daily basis

[3] Revered as where Europe meets Asia, the Bosporus Straits is wider than our River Niger crossing but the Turks are light years ahead of us when it comes to linking up. This latest tunnel is the third following the Marmaray and Eurasia Tunnels

[4] Nigeria should be ashamed about the fact that not only does she not have one tunnel under the River Niger Asaba-Onitsha crossing but neither does she have one railway link across it. Can we not see what the Turks are doing in Istanbul?

[5] This latest Great Istanbul Tunnel will be a high-capacity rail metro that will span a total length of 28km and will consist of 13 stations

[6] This network will have the capacity to serve 70,000 passengers per hour in one direction. Just imagine if we had that in Asaba-Onitsha

[7] This latest Istanbul tunnel will integrate with 11 other railways and would also enable the Metrobus line, which is considered a backbone of the transportation system in Istanbul, to operate at optimal capacity

[8] Turkey financed at least one of its tunnels using Islamic finance. Nothing stops the governors of Anambra and Delta States applying for a similar loan facility

[9] I take the view that the state governments are in a better position to build River Niger crossings than the federal government. They will easily recoup whatever money is spent on the projects through the levying of tolls

[10] I for one am actually surprised that the Anambra and Delta state governments have not already formed a holding corporation called the River Niger Crossing Company. It should be charged with building and maintaining crossings across the river