China offers US$1b for Nigerian
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-05-22 09:16
The Chinese government is to assist in the rehabilitation of the ailing
Nigerian railway system with a grant of 1 billion U.S. dollars, Nigerian Finance
Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iwuala said here on Sunday.
The minister told at a
joint news conference on a two-day international conference on "Financing for
Development: From Commitment to Action" that the money would also be used to
build new rail tracks in the country.
Okonjo-Iwuala, a former vice
president of the World Bank, said the rehabilitation of the rail system is one
of the programs being embarked upon by the government to ensure that
infrastructure is provided and maintained in the country in line with the
overall program of employment generation and poverty alleviation.
"Provision of infrastructure is critical for economic development, "she
said, adding that "Nigeria and the other African countries should adopt
strategies to attract investments in infrastructure provision and encourage
public and private sector partnership in the provision of infrastructure."
Many African finance ministers and their health and education
counterparts as well as the donors are expected to attend the two- day
international conference which opens in the Nigerian capital Abuja on
Sunday.
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