In a move that revives one of the most controversial infrastructure projects of recent years, Nigeria has secured $350 million in funding from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to proceed with the Kano-Maradi rail line, a cross-border railway that will connect Nigeria’s northern state of Kano with Maradi in Niger Republic.
This development was announced by Senator Adamu Aliero, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Land Transport, during an oversight visit to the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) headquarters in Lagos, according to NAN.
The project, envisioned as a link to boost regional trade, was initially slated to be funded largely by China, until they opted out, prompting Nigeria’s search for alternative financing.
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Senator Aliero emphasized that the rail project forms a critical aspect of the government’s ongoing rail modernization agenda, reflecting a commitment to strengthening both domestic and international connectivity.
“The African Development Bank has released $350 million to the Federal Government for the construction of a rail line from Kano to Maradi,” he stated.
Aliero disclosed that Tinubu’s recent visit to China was focused on finalizing talks for financing that would cover the remaining 85% needed to complete Nigeria’s rail modernization projects, including the Kano-Maradi line. The Federal Government’s supplementary budget, recently passed by the National Assembly, allocated over N530 billion as counterpart funding, signaling a commitment to seeing these projects through.
The financing gap is expected to be covered by a mix of international lenders and development institutions, including China Exim Bank, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and additional funding from the AfDB.
The Kano-Maradi rail project, one of Nigeria’s flagship infrastructure undertakings, was initially approved in 2020 by the Federal Executive Council under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari. Valued at $1.96 billion, this rail line spans 283.75 kilometers, traversing Kano, Jigawa, and Katsina states in Nigeria, before crossing into Maradi in Niger Republic.
In 2021, Nigeria formalized a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Mota-Engil, a prominent Portuguese construction firm, to handle the construction, design, and financing of the Kano-Maradi rail project. The $1.9 billion contract, the largest in Mota-Engil’s history, covers every aspect of the project, from rail construction to the supply of rolling stock.
Progress on the project has been steady, with updates from government officials and international partners supporting an optimistic outlook. In May 2024, Nigeria’s Minister of Transportation, Saidu Alkali, stated that the first segment of the project, the Kano-Daura section, is slated for completion by 2025. Further reassurance came two months later when Jorge Adao Martins Dos Santos, the Portuguese Ambassador to Nigeria, confirmed that the overall project remains on track for completion within two years, with Portuguese firms actively engaged in the construction process.
An Ambitious but Contested Step Toward Regional Integration
The Kano-Maradi railway is part of Nigeria’s broader rail modernization strategy, aimed at linking the nation with its neighbors to facilitate regional trade across West Africa. On paper, it is seen as a milestone that could cement Nigeria’s role as a trade hub in the region. However, critics argue that the economic logic behind the project is flawed, and many have questioned whether the cross-border link will provide significant benefits to Nigeria itself.
Skeptics, including economists and policymakers, have pointed out that the project’s price tag might be better spent on routes within Nigeria that would have more immediate economic impact. The Lagos-Abuja and East-West routes, for instance, are seen as higher-value corridors that could serve Nigeria’s bustling commercial centers and increase the efficiency of domestic transport for both passengers and freight.
The rail project was said to be political, with many accusing Buhari, a northern Fulani, of prioritizing the development of transport links with his cousins in Niger Republic, a neighboring country with comparatively less economic interdependence with Nigeria than other West African nations.
In November 2021, members of the National Assembly’s Joint Committee on Land and Marine Transport took the issue head-on, summoning then-Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi to explain the rationale behind constructing a standard gauge rail line to Maradi. Lawmakers argued that this route seemed to disproportionately benefit the Niger Republic at Nigeria’s expense.
Furthermore, they pointed out that while the Kano-Maradi line was slated to be a standard gauge rail, routes in the South-East, South-South, and North-East regions were marked for narrow gauge construction. These discrepancies led lawmakers to characterize the rail project as “discriminatory.”
The decision to prioritize a cross-border rail link over more economically viable routes raised suspicions about the motive behind the project. Legislators questioned why the federal government would prioritize a route benefiting a foreign nation over projects that would primarily serve Nigerian economic hubs.
“We are now looking at the difference between ‘Project D’ which is the construction of 284 kilometers Nigeria-Maradi railway standard world-class line against ‘Project C’ where you talked about the total rehabilitation and reconstruction of Port Harcourt to Maiduguri eastern rail network defined as narrow gauge.
“For a segment of this country that is known for trade and commerce, they need railway as they need air. If the ministry feels that doing 287 kilometers of railway track from Kano to Maradi will be funded with borrowed money…to be paid by our children…
“I also know the economy of Niger Republic and I believe the economy of the Southeast is bigger than that of Maradi. I am not even talking of South-South.
“So what policy guide, what study of federal character integration would make the Ministry of Transportation to put 284 kilometres railway from the end of the north to Maradi and then constructing a Narrow Gauge in the South East and South South…?” Chairman of the House Committee on Transportation, Pat Asadu, remarked.
Now, under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, the Nigerian government has opted to continue with the Kano-Maradi rail project, reigniting debates around the value of the project. Many argue that, given Nigeria’s pressing infrastructure needs within its own borders, the decision to push forward with such a cross-border railway is misplaced.
The debate reignites against the backdrop of Nigeria’s economic downturn, forcing the country to depend on borrowing to fund most of its infrastructural projects.