Otu Flags Off Construction of  $350m Cross River Railway Project

Bassey Inyang in Calabar

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

The state Governor, Senator 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 last 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 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.

According to him, “Today therefore marks an important milestone in our quest to expand and diversify the stock of our infrastructure by partnering 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.”

The governor said that US$350million  is estimated as conservative cost for the project.

He said 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.

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.

The governor said: “Cross River State is frontier to Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, and 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 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 would 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.