Nigeria is currently frustrated and unable to drive its huge railway projects as ominous dark clouds surround the country’s hope to get a balance of loans earlier promised by China.
It has become obvious that China is not interested in funding the project and the Federal Government said it won’t wait any longer for the Export-Import Bank of China to finance a major part of a crucial railway project.
The government has received from the state-owned lender only about 15 per cent of the funding required for a line originally estimated to cost $8.3 billion that will link the commercial hub of Lagos to the northern city of Kano.
President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has been expecting a response from the Chinese authorities regarding the rest of the loans but hasn’t received a reply, according to Transport Minister Rotimi Amaechi.
“We were waiting, They kept delaying us.” said frustrated Amaechi.
China’s hesitancy is a fresh setback for Buhari’s plan to link all major regions of the country with railway lines by the time he leaves office next year.
Nigeria needs at least $3 trillion over 30 years to build roads and power plants to close a huge infrastructure gap, according to Moody’s Investors Service.
The government has since approached Standard Chartered Plc and unidentified Chinese commercial banks to help fund the project, Amaechi said.
Standard Chartered has approved some level of funding, he said.
The London-based lender did not respond to Bloomberg calls for comment.
The Chinese Embassy in Abuja didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Nigeria Taps StanChart to Replace China Loans for Rail Projects
Nigeria used a $1.3 billion loan from China Eximbank to fund a 157-kilometer segment of the Lagos-Kano railway as far as the city of Ibadan, but the rest of the line remains unbuilt.
The Federal Government last year turned away from China Eximbank to Standard Chartered to arrange to fund for two other rail projects in other parts of the country anticipated to cost more than $14 billion.
Source: Daily Trust.