On the 20th of November 2014, the contract for the 1385 km Coastal Rail project was signed by Nigerian officials and members of China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC). As we mentioned in our previous piece on the coastal railway, the value of the project was initially put at $13.1 billion, however following further design development, that amount has been adjusted to reflect the more detailed analysis that has been ongoing in the past months. The new amount is $ 11.97 billion, which still puts the project firmly in place as China's single largest investment abroad. The project cuts through 10 coastal states of Nigeria and has a total of 22 stations. The design speed is 120 km/hr and the single track mileage distance is 1385 km.
As with many other Chinese capital ventures into Nigeria, the structure is quite simple. It follows the Technical Assistance Facility Model. CCECC is a subsidiary of the State construction enterprise: China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC). This means that the Chinese are able to control and manage their objectives directly. Having a very consistent and authoritarian approach, helps with Africa's problem of transparency, confusion and inefficiency. They utilize the same apparatus such as the Exim Bank, time and time again and use the same set of contractors, delivering similar types of contracts etc.
The Technical Assistance Facility Model is one that is hinged on the donor country (China) delivering foreign content for the facilitator (Nigeria) and in the process transferring technical expertise and building critical services. China gains through its investment of foreign content, while Nigeria gains much needed technical know-how.
Written by T.Adeniyi for Blackborderbuild.com
The Technical Assistance Facility Model is one that is hinged on the donor country (China) delivering foreign content for the facilitator (Nigeria) and in the process transferring technical expertise and building critical services. China gains through its investment of foreign content, while Nigeria gains much needed technical know-how.
Written by T.Adeniyi for Blackborderbuild.com