Nigeria secures $1.3 bln funding for rail link to Niger Republic

Mota-Engil, SGPS

13/03/2024 13:41

By Camillus Eboh
       ABUJA, March 13 (Reuters) - Nigeria has secured $1.3
billion in funding to complete a railway project connecting
Kano, the largest city in the north, to Maradi in neighbouring
Niger, the transport ministry said on Wednesday.
    The railway line will build on existing economic and social
ties to boost trade and cultural cooperation between the two
countries.
    Funding will come from a consortium led by the China Civil
Engineering Construction Company (CCECC), which will contribute
85% of the total, the transport ministry said in a statement.
    The remaining 15% will be covered by the Nigerian government
alongside institutions like the Africa Export-Import Bank and
African Development Bank. 
    "The securing of $1.3 billion signifies a monumental step
forward in the completion of this critical infrastructure,"
transport ministry spokesperson Jamilu Ja'afaru said.  
    In July, Portugal's largest builder Mota-Engil signed an 840
million-euro ($919 million) contract to supply and finance
railway rolling stock for the project. 
    Nigeria's government has sought to rebuild the impoverished
north of the country, parts of which have been ravaged for the
past decade by Islamist insurgents. 
    The project is part of a government plan to build rail
networks across Nigeria to address the poor transport
infrastructure that has stymied economic growth for decades.    
  
    ($1 = 0.9143 euros)

 (Reporting by Camillus Eboh; Editing by Elisha Bala-Gbogbo and
Mark Potter)
 ((Camillus.Eboh@thomsonreuters.com;))