The Chinese Construction Engineering Company (CCEC) says it has been licensed to operate standard-gauge rail freight services in Nigeria.
In a social media post on Friday, the construction firm said the planned operation was authorised by the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).
“New milestone for the Lagos-Ibadan Railway!” CCEC posted on X.
“CCECC has been officially authorised by the Nigerian Railway Corporation to operate railway services for the public carriage of goods, becoming the first company licensed to operate standard-gauge rail freight in Nigeria.”
On June 10, 2021, former President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated the 157-kilometre Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge railway for commercial operations at the Mobolaji Johnson railway station in Ebute Metta, Lagos.
Buhari described the project “as another milestone in the drive of this administration to revitalise the railway system and establish it as a choice mode of transportation for both passengers and freight.”
On November 3, 2023, the first container freight train on the Lagos-Ibadan railway departed Apapa port in Lagos, carrying thirty 40-foot containers to Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State.
The rail project was constructed by the CCEC during Buhari’s administration.
