China Railway wins African contracts

Chinese state-owned contractor China Railway Construction has continued its drive to secure international contracts after winning two infrastructure projects in Africa worth a total of CNY 9.1 billion (US$ 1.4 billion).

The largest project won by the company's subsidiary, China Civil Engineering Construction (CCEC), was a US$ 941 million contract to build phase two of the Badagry Expressway in Lagos, Nigeria. The project is part of a 14.8 km long, 10-lane road and rail link that is expected to take three years to complete.

The company also won a contract worth US$ 505 million to construct the Djibouti-Essex border railway in Djibouti, the capital city of the Republic of Djibouti. This project is timetabled to take five years to complete, and CCEC said it would assist with project financing.

The contracts come as China Railway Construction continues to pursue overseas investments. At the end of December, the company won a US$ 5.6 billion contract to build a 1364 km-long single track railway in the Republic of Chad.

The company signed the contract, which involves the construction of a 528 km southern line and an 836 km eastern line, with the Chad Ministry of Transport and Aviation.

And in November last year, the company won contracts from the Singapore Land transport Authority to construct parts of the Tuas West Extension of Singapore's rail network. This contract was worth US$ 399 million.