The federal government is targeting a groundbreaking for the long-delayed Green Line rail connecting Lekki to Marina by December, according to Kayode Opeifa, managing director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).
“Within the next two months, there will be groundbreaking of the Lekki-Marina rail system,” Opeifa told BusinessDay’s Mobility and Logistics Conference in Lagos.
The project, estimated to cost about $3 billion, will run for 70 kilometres, connecting Marina through Victoria Island, Lekki and Ajah to the Lekki Free Trade Zone.
The Federal Executive Council approved contracts worth $2.99 billion for three rail projects in April 2026, including Phase 1A of the Lagos Green Line, the Kano Metro City rail project and the Kaduna light rail system.
Taiwo Oyedele, minister of finance said the projects would be financed through the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI), alongside counterpart funding arrangements.
The 2025 budget carried a N146.14 billion earmarked for the project and a further N102.3 billion was allocated in the 2026 budget cycle.
Read also: What to know about Lagos Green Line rail system
The latest timeline follows earlier missed deadlines. In April 2025, Lagos State said construction would begin before the end of the year. In October 2025, the state government again announced that work would commence in December 2025.
In July 2026, the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority began an African Development Bank appraisal process for proposed financing for the Green Line, assessing the project’s environmental, social and institutional requirements.
The China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) was contracted for the project. The company signed a tripartite agreement with Lagos State and the federal government’s Ministry of Finance Incorporated to develop the Green Line.
The Green Line is expected to carry up to 35,000 passengers per hour in each direction, with 17 stations and trains designed to operate at speeds of up to 100 kilometres per hour. It is intended to provide an alternative to road transport along the congested Lekki–Epe corridor.
Opeifa also said the federal government was pursuing rail projects in Kaduna, Kano and Ogun states. He described a proposed Kaduna–Kano connection, a metro system within Kano and a rail corridor linking Okokomaiko to Agbara in Ogun State.
Bethel Olujobi is the Trade Correspondent at BusinessDay. He brings scarce insight into Nigeria's maritime policies and the changing currents of global commerce defining the country's position in international trade. Before this, he reported on foreign relations, migration and sports for BusinessDay. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Mass Communication, and is an alumni of the CNN Academy and the Financial Times News School. He is certified by Reuters and Google. He is based in Lagos, Nigeria. For pitches, email: [email protected]
