China Railway Construction Corp. (CRCC) has recently won an official contract of building railway tracks along the Nigerian coast line that passes from Lagos to Calabar, the leading producer of oil and strong economies in West Africa, confirmed by Xinhua news agency.
The deal has a worth of $US12 billion and is considered as the largest ever overseas engineering project that any Chinese company has been awarded to date. The official agreement took place on recent Wednesday between China Railway Construction Corp. Ltd. (CRCC) and the Nigerian government.
The lucrative agreement is based on expanding the Nigerian railroads by 871 miles (1,402 kilometres) along the coast, connecting Lagos and Calabar, hub of economic activities in East Africa, mentioned in the report.
This deal will certainly open the doors to Chinese based companies to get rewarded from mega overseas projects across the globe, said CRCC
The country showed its interest to have a deal with Mexico for installing bullet train, but was abandoned by Mexico due to lack of transparency. However, just after two weeks, the deal has been finalized with the Chinese-led consortium, driven by CRCC along with stretching railway lines.
The chairperson of CRCC, Meng Fengchao stated that the Chinese technologies will be exploited in accomplishing the entire project which will also help in promoting the Chinese technology standards around the world. Moreover, it will boost the Chinese exports of trains, construction machinery, steel items and other products by adding net worth of $US4 billion in total exports.
The project will also replicate pleasing impacts over the economy of Nigeria by generating 200,000 local jobs throughout the construction process and create 30,000 employment opportunities once the project will be completed and lines become operational, said Mr. Fengchao.
“It is a mutually beneficial project,” Meng was quoted by Xinhua as saying.
Trains will travel at a maximum speed of 120 kilometres per hour on the link, the report added.
According to report, the trains will be able to run on tracks at a pace of 120kmph. China is the second largest economy in the world which has explored number of markets and still seeking more resources in turn to expand its economy. The continent of Africa is among one of the markets where China has been focusing over the last decades and has noticeably ensured its strong existence within the continent.
The total trading recorded between China and Nigeria was stood at $US13.6 billion in 2013, and the Chinese prime minister “Li Keqiang” has pledged the Nigerian government to bring more investment and Chinese technologies in the near future.
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