7 May 2014
A Chinese state-owned construction firm will build a major railway in Nigeria in a project estimated to cost $13bn.
On Monday China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, subsidiary of state-owned China Railway Construction Corporation Ltd. (CRCC), signed a framework deal with Nigeria’s ministry of transport for the building of Nigeria’s Coastal Railway Project.
The total track length, converted into mileage of single track, is 1,385km and the trains will travel at 120km/h, CRCC said in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, where it is listed.
Liu Zhiming, president of China Railway Construction Corporation, with Nigeria’s Transport Minister, Idris Audu Umar, after signing a framework contract for a $13bn rail project (CRCC via China.org.cn)
The provisional contract amount is just over $13bn, which represents approximately 13% of the company’s operating revenue for 2013, CRCC said.
"Both parties under the framework contract will conduct further negotiations on relevant detailed contents and enter into a detailed business contract," CRCC stated.
China’s state-run news site, China.org.cn, reported that the new rail line will cross 10 Nigerian states including the oil-producing delta, and that 22 railway stations will be built along the line.
