A Chinese state-owned rail company has signed $5.5bn worth of contracts in Africa, in the latest sign that the country’s “New Silk Road” strategy to build infrastructure around the developing world is showing tangible results.
African units of China Railway Construction Corp will build a $3.5bn intercity rail line in Nigeria and a $1.9bn residential real estate project in Zimbabwe, the company said in exchange filings overnight on Monday.
The latest deal follows a $12bn contract that CRCC reportedly signed for a separate rail line in Nigeria last November, days after Mexico cancelled a $3.6bn high-speed rail contract with a consortium led by CRCC.