Nigeria MOU with General Electric on Narrow Gauge Railway Line Still On Course!

An international Consortium led by General Electric (GE) of the United States signed an agreement for the concessioning of Nigerian narrow-gauge railway network. The agreement was signed in April 2018 for $2 billion.

The Consortium comprised SinoHydro, a leading infrastructure construction services company and Transnet, a leader in transportation and logistics infrastructure management and APM Terminals.

As part of the agreement, 10 locomotives and 200 wagons would be supplied to augment the existing rolling stock in Nigeria. Overall, 200 locomotives will be supplied in the fullness of the concession. The agreement would cover 3, 500 kilometers of existing narrow-gauge truck, which connect cities in the North and the South.

However, General Electric has handed over the leadership of the Consortium to South Africa’s Transnet, a leader in transportation and logistics infrastructure management. This decision by General Electric is hinged on its decision to exit its transportation business.

Transnet Rail Engineering Company’s business includes “the maintenance, upgrade and manufacture of locomotives, wagons, coaches, rolling stock components and associated transport equipment. The company operates seven factories in South Africa.

Other members of the Consortium – SinoHydro and APM Terminals will jointly execute the Nigerian Railway concessioning project.

Meanwhile, the Kaduna-based Nigerian Railway Property Company Limited is continuously selling railways land, renting its landed property and allowing private developers take over its warehouses and staff quarters as part of its mandate.

The Nigeria Railway Corporation has a huge holding of landed properties (staff quarters, training schools, workshops, foundries, staff club houses, railway stations and the corridor for its tracks) across the country.