GE Transportation,  a  unit  of  the  General  Electric  Company  (NYSE:  GE), announced  today  it  has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with the Nigerian federal  ministry  on behalf of the Nigerian Railway Corporation to deliver 25 new locomotives in 2010 for freight and passenger transport.
“The Nigerian Transport Ministry looks forward to its partnership with GE
Transportation,” said Alhaji Ibrahim Bio, Nigerian Minister of Transport.
“The  delivery  of  these  new  locomotives  will  be  key to our continued
railroad  infrastructure  development  and economic growth.” Alhaji Ibrahim Bio added, “The President and Federal Government of Nigeria are determined to revive the comatose railway system into a critical enabling engine of
the economy.  We  hope  that  our  partnership  with  GE  in  successfully
implementing  this  revitalization  program  will  serve  as a model to the railway industry in the entire African continent. ”
GE Transportation won an open tender for the locomotive order. “As part of
our  proposal,  GE  experts  performed  an  extensive analysis on Nigeria’s narrow-gauge  railway network, haulage requirements and traffic patterns to determine  the  best fit locomotive,” said Lorenzo Simonelli, President and CEO  of  GE  Transportation.  “We are honored to support the country’s rail infrastructure growth and are looking forward to working with our Nigerian partners.”