Completed Mixed AidData Chinese Aid

China Eximbank provides $1.267 billion preferential buyer’s credit for Phase 2 (Lagos-Ibadan Section) of Nigerian Railway Modernization Project (Linked to Record ID#1844, #60767, #60850, and #195)844, #60767, #60850, and #195)

$1.27M USD

Funder	Export-Import Bank of China (China Eximbank)
Recipient Organization	Government of Nigeria
Country	Nigeria
Start Date	Aug 18, 2017
End Date	Oct 17, 2033
Duration	5,904 days
Number of Grantees	1
Roles	Recipient
Data Source	AidData Chinese Aid
Grant ID	`60848`

Grant Description

China Eximbank provides $1.267 billion preferential buyer’s credit for Phase 2 (Lagos-Ibadan Section) of Nigerian Railway Modernization Project On August 18, 2017, China Eximbank and the Government of Nigeria signed a $1,267,317,586 preferential buyer’s credit (PBC) agreement for Phase 2 (Lagos-Ibadan Section) of the Nigerian Railway Modernization Project.

The Federal Government of Nigeria made a counterpart contribution to the project worth $314,529,784.90.

📋 Loan / Grant Terms

📅 Maturity20 years

⏳ Grace Period7 years

💹 Interest Rate2.5%

It is supported by a Sinosure credit insurance policy. The final maturity date of the loan is September 21, 2037.

As of December 31, 2020, Nigeria’s Debt Management Office (DMO) reported that the loan had achieved a 69.77% disbursement rate ($884.27 million) and the borrower had made interest repayments worth $29.82 million and no principal repayments to the lender. As such, the loan’s (principal) amount outstanding, as of December 31, 2020, was $884.27 million.

Phase 2 of the project involved the modernization of a 156.65 km railway section from Lagos City, Nigeria’s largest port city in the south, to the northeast via Abeokuta and Ibadan.

This section is part of a larger 1,313 km standard gauge railway that runs from Lagos to Kano and carries both passenger and cargo. Phase 2 also included the construction of a 300 meter link between the Apapa Port Complex and the Lagos-Kano Railway.

China Earth Group Fuzhou Survey and Design Institute Co., Ltd. was the contractor responsible for the design of the project.

China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) was the EPC contractor responsible for the implementation of the project and its work is being supervised by Italy’s Team Nigeria LTD. Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Transport was the project ‘owner’. Construction began on May 5, 2017. The Government of Nigeria announced that it had achieved a 50% project completion rate as of January 15, 2019.

The opening ceremony of the commercial operation of the Lagos-Ibadan Railway was held on June 10, 2021, and the Lagos-Ibadan section of the railway launched commercial operations.

However, the second phase of this project encountered a number of problems and delays related to adverse weather, labor disputes, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, by December 2024, Phase 2 was 'substantially completed.' The larger 1,313 km standard gauge railway modernization project — known as the Nigerian Railway Modernization Project and the Lagos-Kano Railway Modernization Project — that runs from Lagos to Kano has encountered a variety of problems and implementation delays.

China Eximbank had previously agreed in principle to finance the other sections of the $8.3 billion project (as captured via Record ID#1844, #60767, #60850, and #195). However, it later decided not to finance the other railway sections.

In February 2022, Nigeria’s Transport Minister Rotimi Amaech told reporters that ‘[w]e were waiting on the Chinese to give us the loans we applied for and till today they’ve not replied. […] They kept delaying us.’ Consequently, the Government of Nigeria sought funding from other sources, including Standard Chartered Plc and Chinese state-owned commercial banks.

None of these funding sources ever materialized, which put President Muhammadu Buhari in a difficult political situation.

Before the country’s election in 2019, the ruling party (All Progressives Congress) had promised to complete the Lagos-Kano railway before the next nationwide vote in 2023.

📋 Staff Comments

This project is also known as the Lagos-Ibadan Railway Modernisation Project II, Segment 2 of the Lagos-Kano Railway Project, the Apapa Branch Line Project, or the Rye Railway Project. The Chinese project title is 拉各斯-伊巴丹段（拉伊铁路）or 拉伊铁路项目 or 尼日利亚铁路现代化项目 or 尼日利亚铁路现代化项目（拉各斯至伊巴丹段).
In the database of Chinese loan commitments that SAIS-CARI released in July 2020, it does not record the grace period for this loan. AidData records the grace period (7-years) that is reported by Nigeria’s Debt Management Office (DMO) in its ‘Loans Obtained from China Exim As At December 31, 2020’ publication.

📚 Sources & References

U.S.$4,500,000,000 Global Medium Term Note Programme
Senate Approves $1.806 Billion Loan for Rail Projects
Minister of Transportation appears before the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts
Clarifies Issues on Railway Modernization Projects
尼基础设施建设基金计划得到他国兴趣
Two Belts
One Road? The Role of Africa in China’s Belt & Road initiative
FOCAC a Major Platform for Belt and Road Cooperation
Minister - Chinese EximBank not to fund 85% of Lagos-Ibadan rail project
Nigeria: China Exim Bank Commits U.S.$1 Billion to Nigeria's Railway Projects
China Exim bank approves over $1bn for Nigeria’s rail project
Federal Government Budgets N80bn for New Railway Projects’ Counterpart Funds
中兴通讯承建尼日利亚铁路现代化集成项目
FG Prevails On China to Effect Drawdown of U.S.$500 Million Railway Loan
Lagos–Kano Standard Gauge Railway
Four rail lines'll be completed this year -FG
Chinese enterprises undertook to build Nigeria's Rye Railway project to hold cloud open day activities
尼日利亚铁路现代化项目
中土尼日利亚拉伊铁路云开放日活动成功举行
Status of Loans Obtained from China Exim As At March 31_2020
尼交通部长称阿卡铁路即将投入运营，其他铁路项目正常推进
Senate Approves $1.806 Billion Loan for Rail Projects
进出口银行的非洲足迹—尼日利亚篇
Nigerian Railway Modernization LAGOS - IBADAN
Lagos - Ibadan Standard Gauge Railway opens
Lagos-Ibadan: Discovering the expediency of rail transport
China Loans to Africa
Nigeria Gives Up Waiting for China Eximbank Railway Loan
Nigeria says Chinese-built rail project 'delayed' by coronavirus
Lagos-Ibadan rail held by coronavirus outbreak, says Amaechi
Nigeria transport minister OKs employment practice of Lagos-Ibadan railway project
Lai Mohammed
Amaechi inspect Lagos-Ibadan rail project
RE: LAGOS-IBADAN RAIL - CONGRATULATIONS TINUBU!
Amaechi: $5.3b loan for Ibadan-Kano rail delayed by National Assembly
Lagos-Ibadan railway: FG rules out litigation against Chinese contractors over December deadline
FG charges CCECC on rail template handover on project completion
Chinese loan: Terms dangerous, say Reps as FG confirms sovereignty clause
Lessons for Nigeria as China launches smart high-speed train
Drama as Reps
Amaechi disagree over alleged $33b contract
Govt Lists Beneficiaries of $22.7bn Loan
Lagos-Ibadan rail line: Inadequate manpower slowing down pace of work
Amaechi laments
Lagos-Ibadan Railway - Minister Seeks Coordination Between Apm
Ccecc
CORONAVIRUS HAMPERS LAGOS-IBADAN RAIL PROJECT
CCECC Holds 'Cloud Open Day' On Lagos-Ibadan Railway Project
Lagos-Ibadan railway: Amaechi scraps deadlines for Chinese contractors
REPS MANDATED MY COMMITTEE TO PROBE NIGERIA-CHINA AGREEMENTS
OTHERS ― HON. OSSAI
Over 20,000 Nigerians employed for Lagos-Ibadan rail project – Amaechi, $3.313BN CHINESE LOANS: NIGERIA PAYS $461M
STILL OWES $3.12BN, $1.25bn for Abuja rail, $500m for NTA Buharis $22.7bn loan spending plan
Nigeria launches China-built train line
Lagos-Ibadan rail: Amaechi mounts pressure on contractors
CCECC holds online open day for Lagos-Ibadan Railway project
N190bn Debt: Abuja-Kaduna Train Service And Burden Of China Loan
Rail station construction: FG opts for Nigerian professionals
Nigeria Remains China's 3rd Largest Trading Partner in Africa - Envoy
Saraki reaffirms commitment to using local content in Lagos-Ibadan rail construction
BUHARI APPROVES N123BN FOR IBADAN-KANO RAIL
Despite Public Disapproval
FG Asks N’Assembly to Approve $5.3bn Chinese Loan Request
Again
Amaechi urges National Assembly to halt probe of Chinese loans
Amaechi Seeks More Funding To Complete National Rail Projects
Immunity clause and the Chinese rail
China govt to provide finance for Ibadan-Kano railway in Nigeria, 'FG to take delivery of 11 locos soon'
Lagos-Ibadan rail: Second batch of train coaches in transit, says Chinese company
THE LAGOS-IBADAN RAIL TICKET
FG needs $656m to complete Lagos-Ibadan rail line, says Amaechi
Lagos-Ibadan rail: Coronavirus outbreak, cause of delay — NRC boss
Rail Project: Amaechi Delighted By Improved Pace of Work
Chinese-built Lagos-Ibadan railway expected to be operational later this year: official
Over 20,000 Nigerians Employed for Lagos-Ibadan Rail Project - Amaechi
China To Approve $5.3bn For Nigeria's Railway Construction -says Minister of Transportation, $3.1b Rail Projects - Transport Ministry
BPP Appear in Court
Lagos-Ibadan railway: FG angry over slow pace of work
Amaechi
Lai Mohammed inspect Lagos-Ibadan rail project
Uncertainty Trails $5.3bn Loan For Ibadan-Kano Rail
China Civil Engineering: Trial operation of the main line of the Rai Railway in Nigeria
They welcome the Chinese New Year on the Rai Railway in Nigeria
The Rai Railway connects Nigeria's largest port
Global Network: Working Together to Build a Connected Future The China-Turkey Nigeria Railway Cloud Open Day was successfully held
China Railway Construction: China-Turkey Nigeria Railway
Cloud Open Day
Join hands to build a connected future The China-Turkey-Nigeria Rai Railway Cloud Open Day was successfully held
Transportation Ministry Presents 2021 Budget To National Assembly
中国出口信用保险公司
W&C Standard Template
Loans Obtained From China Exim
December 31, 2020
Actual External Debt Service Payments
January to December, 2018
Actual External Debt Service Payments
January - March, 2024
Actual External Debt Service Payments
January to December, 2023
Actual External Debt Service Payments
January to December, 2022
Actual External Debt Service Payments
January to December, 2021
Actual External Debt Service Payments
January to December, 2020
Actual External Debt Service Payments
January to December, 2019
Loans Obtained From China Exim
September 30, 2021
EXTERNAL LOANS SIGNED BUT PARTIALLY DISBURSED AS AT DECEMBER 31, 2019
External Loans Signed but Partially Disbursed
December 31, 2019
Loans Obtained From China Exim
March 31, 2020, 2017 Annual Report and Statement of Accounts, 2019 Annual Report and Statement of Accounts
Riding the Dragon’s Rails: Unpacking the Impacts of Chinese-Built Railway in Nigeria Loan applications and disbursements are still being received and processed as the projects continue to evolve. Ongoing monitoring and evaluation are in place to ensure project continuity.