GE Transportation 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.
Erie, Pennsylvania, USA and Abuja, Nigeria (May 7, 2009) -- 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."
The proposed Model C25 EMPD six-axle locomotives will be built by GE Transportation South America, GE Transportation's affiliate facility located in Brazil, and are scheduled for delivery in 2010. The locomotives feature GE's reliable 7FDL 12-cylinder, 2,500 horsepower engine that will be supplied by GE Transportation's diesel engine manufacturing plant in Grove City, Pennsylvania, USA.
GE Transportation South America has built GE diesel electric locomotives including AC44, Dash 9 and the C Series in Brazil since 1967, and has produced more than 1,000 locomotives, operating in more than 15 countries around the world. The C Series is GE's best selling locomotive in Africa. Approximately 17,000 GE locomotives are in use in more than 50 countries around the world.
GE also assisted the Nigerian Ministry of Transport in arranging financing for the new locomotives with national Export Credit Agencies (ECA) including the Export-Import Bank of the United States and Brazil's Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES).
Stephan Koller
GE Transportation Communications Manager
[email protected]
1-814-875-3457
1-814-431-3150
Tom Scott