The China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation Ltd (CCECC), on Friday, handed over the Federal University of Transportation, Daura, Katsina, to the Federal Government.
The university, which cost about $50 million, was constructed by CCECC as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to support the federal government’s efforts in developing qualified manpower and managing railway facilities across the country.
Former President Muhammadu Buhari performed the groundbreaking of the university in 2019.
Speaking during the handing-over ceremony in Abuja, the chairman of CCECC, Liu Weimin, said the university was part of the firm’s modest ways of giving back to Nigeria and helping in the technical advancement of the country.
Noting that the project created about 1000 jobs during construction, Weimin said many technical exchange programs were also conducted.
He said: “The company has a strong sense of Corporate Social Responsibility and accompanies their values, diligence in integrity and perseverance. CCECC has overcome many obstacles such as the COVID-19 pandemic for the timely delivery of this high-quality project.
“Now, I am so delighted to see that young Nigerians could pursue their academic studies at this university. I believe, in the shortest time the university itself will become a beacon of progress in the development of the country, especially in the transportation sector, and a milestone of the modernisation of the nation.
“Give a man a fish and you feed him a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. As a vivid example of CCCC implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative. I strongly believe that this university will serve as a crucial cornerstone for the modernisation of transportation infrastructure in Nigeria.”
Minister of Transportation, Senator Said Alkali, said the institution is unique in form, standard and structure, saying it has also satisfied the requirements of the National Universities Commission (NUC), which attracted enactment of the Establishment Act number 34 of 2020.
He recalled the infrastructure and logistic challenge that hindered the initial take-off of the university, saying the identified infrastructural gaps prompted collaborative efforts with key stakeholders such as the Ministry of Education, NUC, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, and the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
Alkali commended the firm for the “marvellous undertaking in support of educational development in Nigeria and their further initiative to hand over the university to the Ministry of Transportation for operation by management of the university.”
Governor of Katsina state, Dikko Umaru Radda, in his remarks, commended former President Buhari for providing an enabling environment for the smooth construction of the university.
While assuring the institution of the state’s government support, he urged youth in the state to embrace the opportunity by applying to the university.
He said: ” You have done very well by building this very big infrastructure in my state and I must say that we thank you and appreciate you. And we call upon all other companies that were given this opportunity by our government, both the national and sub national, to learn something from this and be able to provide corporate social responsibility to the host communities.”
