Nigeria's $12 Billion Railway Touted as China's Largest Overseas Project

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--In what is claimed to be China's largest single overseas contract, China Railway Construction Corporation Limited (OTC:CWYCY) (CRCC) (Beijing, China) has signed a $12 billion deal with Nigeria's federal government to build a railway along Nigeria's coast.

The 1,402-kilometer rail line will link Lagos, the country's commercial capital, with Calabar, in the east.

News of the Nigerian deal came two weeks after Mexico cancelled a $3.75 billion deal with a CRCC-led consortium to build a bullet train in Mexico. The cancellation reportedly was due to concerns about transparency.

CRCC Chairman Meng Fenchao said the Nigerian project would adopt Chinese technological standards and lead to $4 billion worth of Chinese exports of construction machinery, trains, steel products and other equipment. The trains on the line would have a maximum speed of 120 kilometers per hour (kph).

The project is projected to create up to 200,000 local jobs during the construction phase, and 30,000 permanent positions when the line is operational.

In May, China Premier Li Keqiang promised more investment and Chinese technical expertise during his visit to Nigeria. China has stepped up its presence dramatically on the African continent in recent decades, as it seeks more resources and new markets. Trade between China and Nigeria totaled $13.6 billion in 2013.

In 2012, CRCC ranked as the world's top construction contractor by total revenue.

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