Page 55 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 15

Innovate Afrika

strengthen ties within the frame- to flooding. The government have tion. “At the end of construction, imagine
work of the Belt and Road Initia- built dykes but even these failed the number of businesses that you can site
tive,stressing the importance of recently under the volume of along with that area just because there is
carrying out key projects in infra- water. Not only did this cause loss transportation. So when you talk about
structure, people’s livelihood, energy of life, homes and livelihoods for timing, poverty doesn’t have timing, unem-
and agriculture. China has also thousands, but many rice fields and ployment is causing insecurity and banditry
committed to assisting Niger with granaries were ruined further con- is a product of poverty, not just lack of
technology and skills transfer in all tributing to food shortages. education. So you have to find an alterna-
fields including building a modern- tive to those who participate in banditry.
ized health care system. NIGER AND BEYOND “So what we are trying to create is a source
of growing the economy of Nigeria and
http://www.xinhuanet.com/en- The African Integrated High Speed creating opportunities for those who want
glish/2019-05/28/c_138097788. Rail Network ( AIHSRN) includes to do real business, so they’ll be able to
htm. a link from Lagos to Algiers which move their manufactured goods and reduce
will directly link the Gulf of Guinea the cost of production around that area.
NUCLEAR ENERGY FOR NI- to the Mediterranean. The route That’s what we are trying to do.”
GERIENS traverses Niger which will be of
immeasurable value to the economy NIGERIA`S NATIONAL
To the critics of the Kano-Mara- of Nigeria, Niger and Algeria and MODERNIZED RAILWAY
di railway we can say that maybe will contribute greatly to the stability NETWORK
`today` Niger has little to offer but of the Sahel region.
`tomorrow` it will be the Sahelian The Nigerian Railway Moderniza-
Region`s largest energy exporter and Nigeria’s Minister of Transpor- tion Project, will connect Lagos in
it will be Niger that powers industry tation, Rt Hon Chibuike Rotimi the south west to Kano in the far
from Mauritania to Sudan! Amaechi, conducted many inter- north, by standard gauge railway.
views with the Nigerian press during The modernized national rail net-
In 2015, as part of the Niger Re- the this year`s 60th Independence work is around 3000 kilometers in
naissance Programme, the gov- Anniversary in which he said: length and of standard gauge. It will
ernment hosted a conference in connect all major cities and link to
Niamey, capital of Niger, to initiate “Last week, we awarded the contract the ports. The network will link to
a national nuclear power program for Kano to Maradi and people were Niger.
under the umbrella of the West screaming why are we taking it to Niger
African Integrated Nuclear Power Republic. It’s important to take it to Niger It is replacing and expanding on
Group (WAINPG) to study the because of economic reasons. Most coastal the old colonial era narrow gauge
feasibility of regional nuclear power territories in Africa are competing better system which was slow, inefficient
capability. than us in terms of cargoes coming from and by 2013 all but collapsed with
not the hinterland, the landlocked coun- only the Lagos to Kano ( south to
The Nigerien High Authority for tries. “We decided to join the market and north) line operational. The average
Atomic Energy (Haute Autorité compete so that we can make our seaports speed was 45km/h and the journey
Nigérienne à l’Energie Atomique very viable. We decided to introduce the took 31 hours. With the completion
(HANEA) have submitted Phase Kano-Maradi rail so that we can convey of the Lagos-Ibadan line, that leg
1 of the feasability study to the their goods from Maradi (a boundary of the journey now takes less than
IAEA. This was done in 2018. Japan village) to our ports with ease. I don’t 2 hours!
has assisted in the funding of the know why people are screaming about it.
proposal. It’s about economics, not politics. In 2006 an agreement was signed
with the China Civil Engineering
IAEA -Niger: Integrated Nuclear You should know that railway generates Construction Company for $8.3
Infrastructure Review (PDF) employment and that as you move from billion. The entire project will cost
Kano to Maradi you’re going to to go to $36 – $40 billion.The CCEC has,
Niger, despite being arid. does have Kano, Dutse, Kazaure, Daura, Katsina, over the last years, constructed the
plentiful rainful around the Niger Jibia before you get to Maradi, imagine the Abuja-Kaduna Railway , Abuja
Delta but the rain is torrential for number of persons that you’ll create jobs Mass Transit Railway, Itapke-Warri
a period of weeks often leading for just at the beginning of the construc- Railway and now the Lagos-Ibadan

WWW.MSINGIAFRIKAMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 15 | SEPTEMBER 2021 55