The Nigerian Government on Friday announced it had reached a memorandum of understanding with a China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) for the construction of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Railway.
The deal was signed by the Minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi.
The contract is an addendum to the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Railway project, which was initially awarded by the former President Goodluck Jonathan’s Administration to CCECC at a contract sum of $11.917 billion
The contract was however reviewed to $11.117 billion.
Amaechi attributed the reduction to the fall in the price of steel among other factors.
Amaechi said the deal will help his Ministry the 1st and 2nd segments of the projects which will run through Calabar-Uyo-Aba-Port Harcourt-Yenogua-Otuoke-Ughelli-Warri-Sapele-Benin-Ore-Ijebu-Ode-Lagos with a construction deadline of two years.
He said part of the contract agreement with CCECC is to expedite action and conclude arrangement with the China-Exim Bank to facilitate the commencement of work on the Railway project Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari had last December, met with his Chinese Xi Jinping, to discuss how to re-commence stalled rail projects under new terms that would see China providing nearly all the financing required.
*Photo shows President Buhari.
