Nigeria supends $8bn China rail contract

Nigeria’s transport ministry has suspended an US$8.3 billion contract with China Railway Construction Corp (CRCC) for a 1,315km rail line in order to "redefine" the scope of the contract, the Financial Times reported. The ministry said the evaluation would take 90 days. The Lagos-Kano line – a project agreed to in the days before a China-Africa summit held in Beijing in late 2006 – accounts for almost 14% of the total value of CRCC’s outstanding contracts. CRCC has also signed a US$300 million road project in Nigeria. Shares of CRCC fell 18% in Hong Kong on Tuesday following the news.