Cross River State governor, Senator Bassey Otu, has performed the groundbreaking ceremony for a 365-kilometres railway to connect the southern part of the state with the north.
The project is a Public-Private Partnership-funded initiative, driven by Messers Reinhoke LLC, in partnership with the state government.
Performing the groundbreaking ceremony at the premises of Tinapa Free Zone Resort on Tuesday, the governor stated that the railway project was one of the fruits of the investment summit held in August 2023, at the Calabar International Convention Centre.
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 Cross River’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.
He also disclosed that $350million was estimated as conservative cost for the project, adding that the public-private partnership in the provision of the infrastructure was based on funds from equity investments and debt financing from financial institutions with significant backing from Cross River State government.
The governor averred that the importance of the rail project to the economic growth of the state was premised on the strategic location of the state among other sub-nationals.
He said: “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 also serve as evacuation corridor for goods and services within international borders.”
Governor Otu expressed optimism that the expected boost in international trade and its ripple effect would drill down the entrepreneurial spirit of Cross Riverians and trigger the state’s Gross Domestic Product, GDP.
He enjoined the company handling the railway project, Reinhooke Investment LLC, to attach the desired seriousness in order to meet the stipulated timeline for completion, and charged communities which areas the rail project would cut through to give maximum cooperation to the construction company.
The governor also directed indigines of such communities to, in line with local content, apply for sub-jobs from the firm based on their capacities and set-skills.
In his remarks, Stanley Orji 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. Grandlitora, a subsidiary of Rinehooke Investments, is expected to handle the project.
This, according to him, will make Cross River an attractive destination for both local and international investors.
He also assured of his company’s commitment to contractual obligations and project execution within the agreed timeframe.
