Ben Eguzozie, in Calabar
Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River has broken the ground for an ambitious 365-kilometre railway to connect the state’s southern part with the largely agrarian north.
The project is a public-private partnership funded initiative driven by Messers Reinhooke LLC in partnership with the state government.
The rail line takes off from the $650m Tinapa Free Zone & Resort, built to drive retail trade into the state, generating some N300 billion annually. But that was yet to effectively materialise before the free zone estate ran into murky waters of Nigerian federal government’s politics. Today, the multi-million naira tourist site lay comatose.
Governor Otu said the railway project is one of the fruits of the state’s investment summit held in August 2023, at the Calabar International Convention Centre (CICC), where the state government had robust engagement with financial, infrastructure and social investment players, seeking buy-in in the state economy’s growth trajectory.
Otu said the railway project was an important milestone in Cross River’s quest to expand and diversify its stock of infrastructure by partnering with Messers Reinhooke LLC to construct the “Grandlito Railway Project” that will run from Calabar to Obudu.
On completion, the project, covering an approximate 365 km with main terminals in Calabar and Obudu; while three sub-stations will be located at Ugep, Ikom, and Ogoja, will drive the state’s economic growth, raising its GDP by some notches.
Cross River, with a GDP in excess of $26.3 billion, falls a little below the top tier GDP sub-nationals in Nigeria.
Governor Otu said the $350m was estimated as conservative cost for the project, adding that the public-private partnership in the provision of the infrastructure is based on funds from equity investments and debt financing from financial institutions with significant backing from the state government.
“The importance of the rail project to the economic growth of our state is premised on the strategic location of the state among other sub-nationals.
“Cross River is frontier to Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Sao Tome and Principe. It is also home to the largest export processing zone in Nigeria – the Calabar Free Trade Zone (CFTZ).
“The railway line will not only facilitate easy intra-state movement, but will serve as evacuation corridor for goods and services within international borders,” he added.
The governor expressed optimism that the expected boost in international trade and its ripple effect will drill down the entrepreneurial spirit of Cross Riverians and trigger the state’s GDP. He therefore urged Reinhooke LLC to stay within the contractual timelines.
Otu also charged communities whose areas the rail project will cut through to give maximum cooperation to the construction company, directing indigines of such communities to, in line with local content, apply for sub-jobs from the firm based on their capacities and set-skills.
Stanley Orji of Rinehooke Investments LLC, said the project will attract investments, stimulate job creation and encourage the establishment of new businesses such as Hi-tech, tourism, manufacturing, agriculture, as well as bolster the ease of doing business in the state, making Cross River an attractive destination for both local and international investors.
Orji assured of his company’s commitment to contractual obligations and project execution within the agreed timeframe.
