SET to add value to its landed properties scattered throughout the federation, the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC), may have decided to undertake a new valuation, and now seeking to engage reputable estate surveying firms to anchor the exercise.
The likely valuation job became necessary following discovery of underutilization and some cases total abandonment of the corporation’s vast landed property and the situation has led to multi encroachment by several individuals and groups.
The move is coming on the heels of the Federal Government‘s lifting of a ban on abandoned railway properties. The deplorable situation of properties in the corporation has for long persisted due to long lease to individuals without proper monitoring as well as the long period of inactivity of the NRC.
Managing Director, NRC Mr. Seyi Sijuwade, recently made the announcement that a search for estate valuers and developers to revamp NRC’s ailing structures has begun.
According to Sijuwade, since the Federal Government has lifted the ban on the corporation’s properties, there was need to inject new life into them, which we intend to do by converting abandoned landed properties to multi level parking spaces, build hotels and parks among other things.
Public Relations Officer of the NRC, Mr. David Ndakotsu in a chat with The Guardian also stated that the move, which also involves the property arm of the corporation, is at the preliminary stage just as the corporation would later advertise expression of interest for determined properties.
Railway Property Company Limited (RPCL) manages NRC non-operational properties and was created in 1995.
It would be recalled that back in 2006 the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) set up an ad-hoc committee to investigate the circumstances that led to the collapse last week in Lagos of one of the corporation’s warehouses that had been converted into a two-storey building, claiming eight lives and leaving about 36 people injured.
The incident occurred at the corporation’s Lagos headquarters’ premises located at Iddo, in the Lagos Mainland axis at Ebute-Metta Local Government Area.
It was alleged that the property, which gave way following a heavy rain on penultimate Sunday morning, was originally meant to be a warehouse, which was turned into a residential piece without improving on the structure.
Similarly former Minister of Transport, Alhaji Ibrahim Isa Bio who bemoaned the encroachment of individuals and organizations on railway properties across the federation during his tenure, was quoted as saying: “It is quite alarming to state that as at today, the landed properties of the NRC across the Federation, are being encroached upon. Structures such as residential houses, shops, kiosks, hotels, workshops, markets, churches, mosques and even tank farms to mention but a few, have been built illegally on Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) properties. The incidence of the encroachment has been fuelled by the seeming abandonment of these properties by the Corporation.
In addition, long lease to individuals without proper monitoring has contributed in no small measure to the conversion of such properties into private use. Furthermore, the long period of inactivity of the NRC and the inability of government to revive rail transportation has exacerbated the situation”.
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