Nigeria hopes the first phase of a light railway aimed at easing traffic jams in the commercial hub, Lagos, will be ready within 13 months, and is inviting bidders for an expansion, Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, said on Thursday.
China’s state-owned China Civil Engineering Construction Corp (CCECC) began work on the $2.5 billion scheme in 2010, hoping to open the line in 2011, but the project has suffered delays.
Ambode, who assured that the project will be completed by December 2016, said a tender for an expansion had been opened, and that a total of six lines were planned, to connect northern and southern Lagos.
He added that Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the world’s biggest retailer, which has said it is committed to Africa, had held talks with officials in July about the possibility of opening stores in Lagos.
Nigeria has the continent’s biggest economy and Lagos alone has a bigger GDP than Ghana or Kenya.
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