Post by Henry Emeka (@Emekus)

Nigeria used Mota‑Engil (a Portuguese company) because no Nigerian construction firm had the technical capacity, financing strength, or international rail‑building track record required for a project of this scale.
Why Nigeria Didn’t Use a Nigerian-Owned Company
Here are the four real reasons the government awarded the Kano–Maradi railway to Mota‑Engil.

Financing: Mota‑Engil brought its own money
This is the biggest reason.

The Kano–Maradi railway is a $1.9 billion project.
Mota‑Engil agreed to:

Provide part of the financing

Work under an EPC + financing model (Engineering, Procurement, Construction + partial funding)

No Nigerian company could offer that level of financing.

In major infrastructure deals, the contractor who brings money usually wins.

Technical capacity: Nigerian firms don’t yet build standard-gauge railways
Nigeria has strong construction companies (Julius Berger Nigeria, Dantata & Sawoe, CCECC Nigeria Ltd, etc.), but:

None have built a complete standard-gauge railway end‑to‑end

None have the specialized rail engineering equipment

None have the international certification required for cross‑border rail

Railway construction is extremely specialized — far more complex than roads or bridges.

Speed and experience: Mota‑Engil has built railways across Africa
Mota‑Engil has delivered rail projects in:

Angola

Mozambique

Malawi

Uganda

They have:

Heavy rail machinery

Experienced rail engineers

A proven delivery record

Nigeria needed a company that could start immediately.

Diplomatic and geopolitical reasons
The Kano–Maradi line connects Nigeria to Niger Republic.
The project was partly driven by:

ECOWAS integration

Cross‑border trade

Regional influence

Portugal (Mota‑Engil’s home country) has strong ties in West Africa.
Awarding the contract to Mota‑Engil helped secure:

International support

Financing guarantees

Diplomatic cooperation

But here’s the part many people don’t know
Even though Mota‑Engil is foreign, Nigerians still do most of the actual work.

Large foreign contractors typically:

Bring foreign engineers

Hire local labor

Subcontract to local Nigerian companies

On similar projects (Lagos–Ibadan, Abuja–Kaduna), over 80% of workers were Nigerians.

The exact number for Kano–Maradi has not been published, but the pattern is consistent.

Bottom line Nigeria didn’t use a Nigerian-owned company because:

Nigerian firms couldn’t finance the project

They lacked rail‑building experience

Mota‑Engil offered better technical capacity

The project required international guarantees

This is common worldwide — even the U.S. and U.K. hire foreign firms for major rail projects.

https://constructionreviewonline.com/tinubu-sets-2026-deadline-for-completion-of-kano-maradi-railway-project/?utm_source=copilot.com

https://dailytrust.com/kano-maradi-rail-project-now-at-60-completion-tinubu/?utm_source=copilot.com

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