By Chesa Chesa
President Tinubu has visited the China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) head office in Beijing, during which he acknowledged the company’s role as a reliable partner in Nigeria’s infrastructure development programme, commending its ongoing railway projects in the country.
”It is very important that we give assurances to the Nigerian people across our local communities that the Ibadan-Abuja-Kaduna-Kano railway segments will be completed and done to the satisfaction of Nigeria and West Africa at large.
”We will support your investment in solid minerals and other ventures in Nigeria. I am here to assure you that Nigeria is ready to do business with you,” the President said during a meeting with the Chairman of CRCC, Mr. Dai Hegen, on Monday.
This followed a tour of the CRCC and China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) office in Beijing, as part of Tinubu’s state visit to China.
Mr. Hegen informed the President that CRCC has been involved in Nigeria for 43 years, implementing over 300 projects and training over 100,000 local workers.
”The Abuja-Kaduna Railway and Lagos-Ibadan Railway have transported approximately 9 million passengers and 180 tonnes of cargo. The Lagos blue line has transported over 1.6 million passengers,” he said.
In a separate engagement, President Tinubu visited Huawei Technologies’ Beijing Research Centre, where the company announced the launch of DigiTruck, a mobile ICT classroom aimed at enhancing digital literacy in underserved Nigerian communities.
During the President’s meeting with Huawei’s leadership, led by Mr. Liang Hua, Chairman of the Board of Directors, the company said the initiative would operate in 10 states annually, training at least 3,000 students each year.
Acknowledging the ongoing efforts by Nigeria’s Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy to train 3 million technical talents (3MTT) and equip the country’s young population with the skills necessary for present and future economic opportunities, Huawei’s leadership said the DigiTruck initiative will complement the programme.
Mr. Hua praised the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda for identifying digital technology as a critical driver of economic growth.
“This is very encouraging for us. Huawei is fully prepared to offer its ICT expertise and become a reliable partner of the Nigerian government to support the country in achieving its policy objectives and furthering its digital, intelligent, and low-carbon development.”
Also speaking, Mr. Chris Lu, Chief Executive Officer of Huawei Nigeria, expressed support for Nigeria’s National Talent Export Programme (NATEP), an initiative that seeks to position Nigeria as a hub for talent outsourcing in Africa.
“In the future, we hope to continuously develop the NOC and expand its capacity so that it can meet the requirements of more African markets, thus facilitating more Nigerian technology talents in serving more overseas’ markets and helping to achieve the goal of NATEP,” Mr. Lu said
During the tour of the Huawei Research Centre’s exhibition hall, President Tinubu and his delegation were introduced to Huawei’s latest innovations in e-government, smart education, smart grid, and solar power, demonstrating their potential to enhance public services, digital governance, and Nigeria’s inclusive development agenda.
As part of the efforts to achieve the aforementioned goals, Huawei also plans to establish a joint PV test lab with Nigeria’s Rural Electrification Agency (REA).
