KPMG: Nigeria’s high speed rail is ‘world-class’

Nigeria’s high speed rail project initiated by President Goodluck Jonathan has been rated among the global top 100 world-class infrastructure projects by KPMG. The rail will connect Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, Warri, Bauchi, Abuja, and Port Harcourt and will cost the country $13 billion, much of which will be financed with a loan from the Export Import Bank of China. The China Railway Construction Corporation has secured the contract to build the 3,218-kilometre network, which will be digitally operated using fibre-optic cables, radio
communication and wireless services. The project is designed to cover 54 stations and will take 25 years to build. In the report, The Infrastructure 100: World Markets Report, the KPMG panel of judges said the project “will remove heavy freight from Nigeria’s stressed roads, could save the country millions on road maintenance”. Other African projects on the list are: Khi Solar One (South Africa), Square Kilometer Array (South Africa), PRASA Rolling Stock (South Africa), Kudu Gas Field and CCGT Project (Namibia),Trans-Saharan Natural Gas Project (Nigeria to Algeria), Mombasa-Kigali Railway (Rwanda), KivuWatt (Rwanda), Jinja Bridge (Uganda), and Jomo Kenyatta International Airport Terminal (Kenya). In its note, KPMG said the report highlights key trends driving infrastructure investment around the world. A global panel of industry experts identifies 100 of the world’s most innovative, impactful infrastructure projects showing how governments are coming together with the private sector to overcome funding constraints to finance and build projects that can improve quality of life – both solving immediate needs and planning for future societal demands. The report looks at infrastructure based on the dynamics of four key markets: Mature International Markets (like Canada, Australia, and UK), Economic Powerhouses (including the US and BRIC countries), Smaller Established Markets (like Chile, Sweden, New Zealand, Korea and South Africa), and Emerging Markets (including a number of economies in Africa).