Chinese firm sets up railway tech training center in Nigeria

ABUJA - The China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation Monday declared open of its railway technology training center, which is mainly set up to train local artisans and technicians on how to manage the Nigerian construction industry.

At the unveiling ceremony of the Idu Training Center, Qi Xiaotian, a member of the top management of the China Railway Construction Corporation, said the training scheme is necessary for Nigerian employees with the development and operation of the Nigerian modern railways and urban mass transit rail system in Abuja and Lagos.

He said the training scheme will provide more talents for the local railway management and operation, maintanence and workshops. The CCECC has the responsibility to introduce more technology and technique to lcoal employees for Nigeria's further development in mass transport services, he explained.

The training program, with its pilot phase commencing in Idu located in Nigeria's capital city Abuja, is expected to create a link between government and the masses in a way that the latter will be highly skilled to be absorbable by the construction industry in Nigeria, Honorary President of the Abuja Training School Jonathan Olopade also said at the brief unveiling ceremony.

"We are creating a link between the construction industry and the local technicians and artisans in a way that brings them up to the standard that can match our needs as well as address the structural unemployment concerns of the country," he said further.

Over the years, the Nigerian railway which was a very lucrative transport operator during and immediately after the country's colonial era had gone into extinction. But the new initiative by CCECC and its local collaborators will help bring back the past glory of the Nigerian railway to its place of pride, according to Olopade.

Noting that the training school's objective is to be a major contributor to the net capacity development of master technicians and artisans in the country, the institute's honorary president said the training school will be regarded as one of the major corporate social responsibilities of the CCECC to the Nigerian masses in recent times.

"We are starting off with the Abuja Training School and our intent is that in due time, we will move to Lagos and some other parts of the country," he added.

An the ceremony, Chinese ambassador to Nigeria Deng Boqing said that in the past few years, the CCECC has well established itself in the infrastructural sector in Nigeria and achieved fast growth in the development. According to him, the training school is aimed at cultivation of talents in Africa and Nigeria, which is one of the major tasks for the Chinese companies operating in Africa.

"This opening of the school marks the implementation of targets set by the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) held in Beijing in July," Deng noted, adding that he sincerely wished the training program success in the coming years.

CCECC Nigeria Ltd, which provides construction and engineering services in the west African nation, has over 10,000 local staffs who need to be properly trained on how to operate, manage and carry out maintenance in the Nigerian railway sector.