Otu Flags off Construction of $350m C’River Railway Project 

Bassey Inyang in Calabar 

The Cross River State Government, working in partnership with some private investors, has commenced the construction of a 365-kilometre of railway to be completed at an estimated cost of US$350 million.

Governor Bassey Otu, while performing the groundbreaking ceremony for the project at the Tinapa Free Zone Resort in Calabar said the railway line would connect the southern part of the state to its northern extremities.

At the event, which took place on Tuesday, Otu disclosed that the project is a public-private partnership (PPP)-funded initiative driven by Messers Reinhoke LLC in partnership with the state government. 

The governor said that the railway project is one of the fruits yielded by the Investment Summit held in August 2023 at the Calabar International Convention Centre.

He said at the summit, the state government had a robust engagement with financial, infrastructure and social investment players, seeking buy-in, in the growth trajectory of the state’s economy.

“Today, therefore, marks an important milestone in our quest to expand and diversify the stock of our infrastructure by partnering with Messers Reinhoke LLC for the construction of the Grandlito Railway Project that will run from Calabar to Obudu.

“On completion, the project will cover an approximate distance of 365km with main terminals in Calabar and Obudu, while three sub-stations will be located at Ugep, Ikom and Ogoja,” Otu said.

The governor said that $350 million is estimated as a conservative cost for the project, adding that the PPP in the provision of the infrastructure is based on funds from equity investments and debt financing from financial institutions with significant backing from Cross River State Government.

Otu said that the importance of the rail project to the economic growth of the state is premised on the strategic location of the state among other sub-nationals.

According to the governor, “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 the easy intra-state movement, but will serve as evacuation corridor for goods and services within international borders.”

Otu said 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 Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

He tasked the company handling the railway project, Reinhooke Investment LLC, to attach the desired seriousness in order to meet the stipulated timeline for completion.

The governor also charged communities, whose areas the rail project will cut through, to give maximum cooperation to the construction company.

He told indigenes of such communities to take the railway project as their own because, in line with local content, they will apply for and get sub-jobs from the firm based on their capacities and set-skills.

Otu told the people of the state that his administration remains poised to changing the infrastructural landscape of the state through enduring partnerships.

In his speech, Stanley Orji, the representative 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.

Orji said the positive impacts of the railway project would make Cross River State an attractive destination for both local and international investors.

He gave the assurance that the company is committed to meeting the contractual obligations and agreed timeframe for the execution of the project.