2 August 2013
Nigeria’s ambition to achieve "world class status" in its transport infrastructure got a $500m boost last month in the form of a loan from China to help pay for four international airport terminals and a railway.
Nigeria is eager to be a hub for commercial aviation in Africa, and the four terminals will be built by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) within the next 20 months, reports Allafrica.com.
CCECC president Yuan Li said the airport terminals’ construction remained a special project for the company.
The deal was struck during a visit by Nigerian government officials to CCECC in Beijing to inspect CCECC facilities.
The Chinese loan will fund the construction of four new international airport terminals (Credit: Christian Volpati/Wikimedia)
CCECC will also modernise the Abuja-Kaduna railway line.
Nigerian vice president Namadi Sambo said the government’s commitment to infrastructural development was "total and unwavering" and insisted that the $874m Abuja-Kaduna railway would be completed by December.
To pay for the projects on top of the Chinese loan the federal government will contribute, but hopes the private sector will as well.
Mr Sambo said that "opportunities abound for foreign direct investment in this important sector."
The project falls under a 25-year strategic railway vision to transform Nigerian Railways to "world class status" and return the railways to its glorious days, according to Mr Sambo.
Source: Allafrica.com
