China has signed its biggest overseas deal with Nigeria, a $12-billion rail line linking Lagos in the Western part of the country to Calabar in the East. According to a report from state-owned Xinhua News Agency on Thursday, the contract was signed by the Ministry of Transport of Nigeria and the China Railway Construction Corporation Limited.
The coastal 1,402-kilometer railway will have 22 stops and will be linking Lagos, the economic capital of Nigeria, in the west with Calabar in the east.The CRCC said that the trains will run at a speed of 120 kilometers per hour. Meng Fengchao, the chairman of CRCC, said that the project will be beneficial to both parties. He also added that the railway will be based on Chinese technology, and will generate $4 billion worth of equipment exports including steel goods, construction machines and train cars. “The project will also create up to 200,000 local jobs, directly or indirectly. Up to 30,000 fixed job posts may also be provided when the railway starts operating,” said the CRCC chairman.
Nigeria’s Ministry of Transport Rail and Mass Transit director Bature Gafai said that the new railway is a crucia lcomponent for the growth of the Eastern Economic Corridor. Gafai, during the May 8 framework contract signing, said that the coastal rail line will encourage petroleum goods exports and will aid in the economic development of the whole region of West Africa. Earlier this November, Mexico cancelled a high-speed railway contract worth $4.4 billion with the Chinese consortium, including CSR Corporation limited and the CRCC, due to opposing public opinions.
Wang Mengshu from the Chinese Academy of Engineering said on Thursday that the Mexico incident is unlikely to be repeated as China and Nigeria have a stable and beneficial relationship. Every year, African railway management staffs are trained by China. Both countries have cooperated on other projects as well.
