Enugu - Transport

Transport

Enugu is located on the narrow-gauge Eastern Line railway linked to the city of Port Harcourt; the Enugu train station is by the side of the National Stadium; dating back to its coal-mining origins, it is located on Ogui Street. The main forms of transportation in the city are taxi cabs and buses. Okada (motorcycles), once served as public transportation in the city until the state government banned them from this use in April 2009. Most transport enters and leaves the city through Enugu's Ogbete Motor Park, Garki Motor Park serves as a transport pick-up point as well. Unregistered taxis are known as Kabu Kabu and are differentiated with registered ones through the lack of yellow paint on the unregistered vehicles. In 2009, Enugu introduced a taxi job scheme under 'Coal City Cabs' to help in the eradication of poverty in the city. 200 registered Nissan Sunny taxis, provided by the state government; and 200 registered Suzuki taxis, provided by the Umuchinemere Pro-Credit Micro Finance Bank, were given out on loan to unemployed citizens in the city who will operate as taxi drivers and will own the vehicles after payments are completed. 20 buses with the capacity for 82 passengers seated and standing were introduced as Coal City Shuttle buses on 13 March 2009 to run as public transport for Enugu urban.

The main airport in the state is the Akanu Ibiam International Airport which can be accessed by buses and taxis. Renovations began on 30 November 2009 to upgrade it to accommodate wide-bodied aircraft. These plans include extending the 2,400-metre (7,900 ft) runway by 600 metres (2,000 ft) to make it 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) long; the runway will be widened from 45 to 60 metres (148 to 200 ft). It is estimated that the project will cost ₦4.13bn (27.3 million US Dollars As of 26 June 2010 (2010 -06-26)).

The A3, or the Enugu-Port Harcourt highway, was opened in the 1970s and links the two cities together by passing through Aba, a major urban settlement. The A3 goes further on past Enugu's north to link to the city of Jos via Makurdi. Two more highways, the A232 from Benin City, Asaba and Onitsha to Enugu's east and the A343 from Abakaliki to Enugu's west, makes Enugu the site of a major junction.