West Africa's first Chinese-made light rail system was put into service with a ceremony in Nigeria yesterday. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria Cui Jianchun attended the opening ceremony of the first phase of the 27-kilometer-long Lagos Rail Mass Transit (LRMT) Blue Line in Lagos state in southwestern Nigeria.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari described the project as "historic" in a speech he delivered at a banquet organized by the Lagos governor's office ahead of the inauguration ceremony.
Buhari stated that the light rail system will improve the lives of local people as well as reduce traffic congestion and air pollution.
The LRMT Blue Line project, whose construction was undertaken by the Civil Engineering Construction Company of China (CCECC), is West Africa's first light rail system and the largest infrastructure investment project in Nigeria's Lagos state.
The project is also the first rail infrastructure to cross Okokomaiko, a densely populated area west of Lagos, and Marina, a business district on Lagos Island.
With the commercial enterprise, the project is expected to greatly improve the connectivity of the Nigerian economic centre, providing rail construction experience to other parts of Nigeria and countries in West Africa.
Construction of the first phase of the Lagos Blue Line project started in July 2010 and was completed in December 2022. The first phase of the project, which is 13 kilometers long and has five stations, has the capacity to carry more than 250 thousand passengers per day.
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