By Fortune Eromosele, Abuja

The China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation Ltd (CCECC) has officially handed over the Federal University of Transportation, Daura, Katsina, to the Federal Government.

The university, which was constructed at a cost of approximately $50 million, was built as part of CCECC’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative to support the federal government’s efforts in developing qualified manpower and managing railway facilities across the country.

Speaking during the Handing-over ceremony of Federal University of Transportation (Phase I) Daura Katsina State, Nigeria By CCECC Nigeria Limited, in Abuja, CCECC Chairman Liu Weimin, stated that despite challenges, the company has not failed in delivering quality projects.

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.”

Weimin further emphasized, “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.”

On his part, the Minister of Transportation, Senator Said Alkali, praised the institution, saying it is unique in form, standard, and structure, and has satisfied the requirements of the National Universities Commission (NUC), which led to the enactment of the Establishment Act number 34 of 2020.

He acknowledged the infrastructure and logistic challenges that initially hindered the university’s take-off and commended CCECC for their “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.”

In his remarks, Katsina State Governor, Dikko Umaru Radda, expressed gratitude to former President Buhari for providing an enabling environment for the university’s smooth construction.

He assured the institution of the state government’s support and encouraged 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.”