The construction of the $50 million (N18bn) Transportation University to be located in Daura, Katsina State will start by next year, the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, has said.

The university is to be built by China Civil and Construction Company (CCECC) and is part of the Federal Government’s efforts to develop qualified manpower that will manage the many railways facilities across the country and other transportation facilities, Amaechi added.

The minister told journalists in Abuja recently that in addition to Katsina, another Transportation University might be built in Rivers State to meet the growing demand of manpower in the transportation sector.

He said the contract has already been awarded to CCECC and the construction would have commenced if the governor of Katsina State had provided land for it, adding that once the state government provided the land, CCECC will mobilize to site and fence the land for construction to start.

He said the young Nigerians being trained on scholarship in China on Railway Engineering upon completion of their studies would be deployed to teach in those universities for a period of time before they are allowed to do other endeavours.

“If we get the land, the fencing will start this year. The CCECC has written to ask for land from the state government,” he said.