Chinese firm kicks off railway project in Nigeria

The China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) on Wednesday kicked off a railway modernization project in Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa.

The CCECC began the erection of a 32-meter T-shaped beam in the northern Abuja-Kaduna railway project in the capital city Abuja of the West African country.

The 32 meter-beam erection, which is a new method of bridge superstructure construction technology used worldwide, is significant in Nigeria, since it is the first time being used in railway bridge construction in the country.

According to Li Qing Yong, a top management staff of the CCECC who also doubles as the project manager, the T-beam erection was laudable because it will enhance a safe method of construction coupled with its reliability and durability over a long period of time.

He said a total of 30 railway bridges are being built and 23 out of the number are built with simply supported precast beams as superstructure with a total of 174 spans.

"Each span requires a pair of T-beams, therefore requiring a total of 348 T-beams. The design weight of each T-beam is about 120 tons while the height is 2.5 meter," Li explained at an official ceremony to flag off the beam erection, saying the service life time of the beams at normal application conditions is 100 years.

Owing to the massive size and weight of the T-beams, the project manager said they are usually erected by a specially designed beam erecting machine.

In the Nigerian railway project, a DJ168 bridge erecting machine, which has a maximum certified load capacity of 168 tons and is about 58 meters in length, will be used, he added.

Li said the railway project is entering into a new phase, going by the current progress of work on the site. "The total percentage of civil work done so far is about 82 percent while the overall physical progress is at 52 percent," he noted.

The beam erection project is part of a landmark construction of 186 kilometers of standard gauge railway tracks from Idu, located in Nigeria's capital city Abuja, to Kaduna in the northwestern region of the west African country.