The Federal Ministry of Works Tuesday met with critical stakeholders on its plan to construct trailer parks along the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano highway.
The meeting which held in Kaduna, was attended by Kaduna State Government officials, traffic agencies, Army and transport unions.
The Federal Controller of Works in Kaduna State, Finbarr Zirra said that the meeting was to get the input of the stakeholders as the ministry considers not less six sites for trailer parks between Abuja, Kaduna and Kano.
According to him, the trailer parks will reduce the constant pressure on the road as a result of illegal parking of vehicles.
Zirra assured that all contributions made in the course of the meeting would be looked into.
“From Abuja to Kano we will be having five, while from Kaduna to Zaria, the one that concerns us today, will be two, including the one Kaduna state government has built.”
He said that the ministry wanted the location for the parks to be agreed collectively with all the stakeholders.
“If you build it for them at a location they don’t want, it will not serve anybody,” he said.
The controller said the ministry will write to the Kaduna state Government on the three locations agreed at the meeting.
“We have three locations, primarily we agreed it will be in Zaria end.
“We have to write to the state government, the state traffic agency KASTELEA, and the planning agency KASUPDA, to get their inputs.
“We are working within these three locations, one of them hopefully will be considered,” he said.
On his part, an Assistant Director in the ministry, Emmanuel Aluko, while giving the background of the trailer parks, commended Kaduna State Government for completing the Maraba Jos trailer park, which covers 22.85 hectares.
He said that an additional park would be constructed along the Kaduna bound lane since the existing park is located along Zaria bound lane.
Aluko said that the proposed park would take care of trucks transiting from the northern part and moving through the Kaduna-Abuja route to the southern part of the country.
He said that the ministry, in conjunction with the contractor, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, is presently working on the trailer park concept design, with other ancillary facilities required for the park.
“A suitable location is also been worked on for the trailer park from the Zaria end of the project,” he added.
He said that the proposed trailer park will cover 8.75 hectares, and will have accommodation, police post, fire station and an FRSC post.
Other facilities include shops and restaurants, mosque, toilets, offices, trauma clinic, mechanic workshops, spare part shops among others.
“The proposed trailer park will ease the pressure on truck drivers and discourage drivers from late night journeys,”he added .
In his remarks, Inuwa Ibrahim, an Assistant Director, Kaduna State Ministry of Public Works and Infrastructure, said that the trailer park at Maraba Jos, can accommodate over 150 trailers at a time.
He added that the state government was also constructing another park in Tafa, which will accommodate 500 trucks on completion.
Ibrahim called for synergy between the state and federal government to incorporate all the projects together and develop one mega transit area
