By Fidelis Ugbomeh
No fewer than 803 firms submitted requests for various capital contract bids in 2025 compared to 524 firms recorded last year in the Nigerian railway corporation.
Managing director of the corporation who made this known recently in Lagos during the 2025 open bidding process in presence of the applicants and their representatives, attributed the increase in number of bidding companies to expansion of the corporation’s scope.
Represented by director, medical services, Mr. Albert Asowata, he restated that “The surge in numbers of firms bidding is due to confidence people have in the agenda of Mr. President
“Our scope has been expanded. There are many programs the MD has launched. One of such programmes is the railing with the State. All the State governments are now keying into railways.
“So, there is a lot of things going on in the railways and people are hearing about them. So, that accounts for the increase in the number of firms applying for bids compared to last year.”
Opeifa also assured all the bidders that the bid opening ceremony will be conducted in an unbiased, transparent and efficient manner by a well-trained team.
He disclosed that the critical areas the corporation is looking at for this fiscal year are on wash-out in civil works, bridges and culvert.
According to him, this is because most of the tracks are already washed out by heavy rains and efforts are geared towards ensuring that all the wash-outs are taken care of.
The bidding process had in attendance independent observers like the Civil Liberty Organisation, Nigerian Network of NGOs, Federal Ministry of Transportation, Chartered Institute for Purchaisng and Suplly Management, amongst others.