Decaying infrastructure is one of the deficiencies that Nigeria’s National Economic Empowerment Development Strategy (NEEDS) seeks to address. The government has begun to repair the country’s poorly maintained road network. Because Nigeria’s railways are in a parlous condition, the government is trying to rectify the situation by privatizing the Nigerian Railway Corporation. Similarly, the government is pursuing a strategy of partial port privatization by granting concessions to private port operators so that they can improve the quality of port facilities and operations.
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Railways in Nigeria are operated by the Nigerian Railway Corporation.
As of 2003, Nigeria’s rail system had 3,557 kilometers of track, 19 kilometers of which were dual gauge and the remainder, standard gauge. The country has two major rail lines: one connects Lagos on the Bight of Benin and Nguru in the northern state of Yobe; the other connects Port Harcourt in the Niger Delta and Maiduguri in the northeastern state of Borno. As of March 2006, Nigeria and Niger expected to move forward with plans to establish a rail link between the two countries. Nigeria is also seeking a rail link with Cameroon, but discussions are more contentious in the aftermath of the International Court of Justice’s October 2002 verdict in favor of Cameroon on the issue of control of the Bakasi Peninsula. In order to remedy the poor condition, efficiency, and profitability of the nation’s railways, the government is seeking to privatize the Nigerian Railway Corporation. Under the privatization plan, three separate concessions of 25–30 years would be granted to private-sector companies to run train services in the western, central, and eastern regions.[1]
total: 3,557 km
narrow gauge:
3,505 km 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge
19 km 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge convertible to 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
standard gauge: 329 km 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) gauge
note: Years of neglect of both the rolling stock and the right-of-way have seriously reduced the capacity and utility of the system. A project to restore Nigeria's railways is now underway. A project to convert the gauge of the system to 1435 mm has also somewhat stalled. Couplings of the chopper kind, vacuum brakes and non-roller bearing plain axles are also obsolete.
There are no rail links to neighbouring countries.
30 October 2006
President Olusegun Obasanjo signed a contract with China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation [4] to modernise the Lagos to Kano railway line. This is the first phase of the proposed 3 phase line upgrade. The project has been split up into 5 sections namely Lagos-Ibadan (181 km), Ibadan-Ilorin (200 km), Ilorin-Minna (270 km), Minna–Abuja–Kaduna (360 km), and Kaduna-Kano (305 km).
22 March 2006 In terms of a Memorandum of Understanding signed by Nigeria’s federal Government on 16 March, the Guangdong Xinguang International Group is to construct a revolutionary “fast” rail (RFR) system from Lagos to the capital Abuja (where there is no existing railway) as well as light rail lines to the Murtala Mohammed International Airport from Lagos city and to Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport from the Abuja city centre.
Nigeria has the largest road network in West Africa and the second largest south of the Sahara, with roughly 108,000 km of surfaced roads in 1990. However they are poorly maintained and are often cited as a cause for the country’s high rate of traffic fatalities. In 2004 Nigeria’s Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) began to patch the 32,000-kilometre federal roads network, and in 2005 FERMA initiated a more substantial rehabilitation. The rainy season and poor equipment pose challenges to road maintenance.[1]
Figures from CIA World Factbook (1999):
Total: 194,394 km
paved: 60,068 km (including 1,194 km of expressways)
unpaved: 134,326 km (1998 est.)
note: Some paved roads have lost their asphalt surface and are in very poor condition or have reverted to being gravel roads. Some of the road system is barely usable, especially in high rainfall areas of the south.
Nigeria's strategic location and size results in four routes of the Trans-African Highway network using its national road system:
Nigeria has 8,600 km of inland waterways. The longest are the Niger River and its tributary, the Benue River[1] but the most used, especially by larger powered boats and for commerce, are in the Niger Delta and all along the coast from Lagos Lagoon to Cross River.
In 2004 Nigeria had 105 kilometers of pipelines for condensates, 1,896 kilometers for natural gas, 3,638 kilometers for oil, and 3,626 kilometers for refined products. Various pipeline projects are planned to expand the domestic distribution of natural gas and to export natural gas to Benin, Ghana, Togo through the West African Gas Pipeline, and, potentially, even to Algeria (where Mediterranean export terminals are located) by proposed Trans-Saharan gas pipeline. Energy pipelines are subject to sabotage by militant groups or siphoning by thieves.[1]
crude oil 2,042 km; petroleum products 3,000 km; natural gas 500 km
The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) is responsible for managing Nigeria’s ports, some of which have fallen behind international standards in terms of the quality of facilities and operational efficiency. Recognizing that the government lacks the funding and expertise to modernize facilities and run the ports efficiently, the NPA is pursuing partial port privatization by means of granting concessions to private port operators. Under the terms of concession agreements, the government would transfer operating rights to private companies for a finite number of years without forgoing ownership of the port land. Nigeria’s principal container port is the port of Lagos, which handles about 5.75 million tons of cargo each year. The port, which consists of separate facilities at Apapa and Tin Can Island, has a rail connection to points inland. Port Harcourt, a transshipment port located 66 kilometers from the Gulf of Guinea along the Bonny River in the Niger Delta, handles about 815,000 tons of cargo each year and also has a railway connection. Both ports are not only responsible for Nigeria’s seaborne trade but also serve inland countries such as Niger and Chad. A new port is under construction at Onne about 25 kilometers south of Port Harcourt. Relatively modern and efficient terminals managed by multinational oil companies handle most oil and gas exports.[1]
The Nigerian Merchant Navy is not a legally recognized body, but the senior officers are represented by the Merchant Navy Officers' and Water Transport Senior Staff Association.[7][8] The maritime industry is regulated by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), which is responsible for regulations related to Nigerian shipping, maritime labor and coastal waters. The agency also undertakes inspections and provides search and rescue services.[9]
total: 40 ships (1,000 gross register tons (GRT) or over) totaling 360,505 GRT/644,471 metric tons deadweight (DWT)
ships by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo ship 12, chemical tanker 4, petroleum tanker 22, specialized tanker 1 (1999 est.)
Nigeria’s principal airports are Murtala Muhammad Airport in Lagos and Mallam Aminu International in the northern state of Kano. Three other international airports are located in Abuja, Kaduna, and Port Harcourt. Overall, Nigeria’s airports, whether international or regional, suffer from a poor reputation for operational efficiency and safety. Private domestic air carriers began to win business at the expense of Nigeria Airways, the former government-owned national airline which was declared bankrupt in 2004. The national flag carrier of Nigeria is now Air Nigeria, in which Virgin Atlantic owns 49% and the remaining 51% by Nigerian investors.
total: 38
over 3,047 m: 9
2,438 to 3,047 m: 11
1,524 to 2,437 m: 10
914 to 1,523 m: 5
under 914 m: 3 (2010 est.)
total: 16
over 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 11
under 914 m: 2 (2010 est.)
1 (1999 est.) 2 (2006) There are at least 15 Heliports to date including those in the Oil sector
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