The Blue Line, built by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, has been used by 20,000 passengers since launch on Sept. 4, according to Lagos state’s transport agency, LAMATA. It runs between two terminals that link a busy suburb on the city’s mainland to a marina district notable for its cluster of highrise bank offices and proximity to affluent neighborhoods. The broad subtext to concerns over Lagos’s new train service is that attempts elsewhere did not live up to initial hype and cost. “Maintenance is going to be critically important and it’s something many African governments have struggled with after Chinese-built infrastructure is handed over,” Eric Olander, editor-in-chief of the China-Global South project, told Semafor Africa.
SOURCE: SEMAFOR