Ethiopia, Nigeria set to launch transcontinental freight railway
Ethiopia and Nigeria have agreed to launch what is called “a Gas-by-Rail Economic Corridor Initiative (GBR-ECI)”.
The aim is to build a 73,500-kilometre freight railway connecting 40 sub-Saharan African countries, with Ethiopia serving as the host nation.
The initiative, signed on Monday by Ethiopia’s Ministry of Transport and Logistics and Nigeria’s Insight Dynamic Resources at the African Union (AU) headquarters in Addis Ababa, aims to deploy as many as 470 high-efficiency gas turbines to form a 270-gigawatt base load power system across Africa.
The initiative is set to present a practical and innovative solution to Africa’s chronic energy deficits. If successful, the initiative would reduce woodfuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 75 percent, easing pressure on forests and improving air quality across the continent.
Stretching across 40 sub-Saharan African countries, the system will carry liquefied natural gas to cities, industries, and communities that have long struggled with limited or unreliable access to modern energy, according to a statement dispatched at the event.
“The initiative is not just about energy access. It is anchored on an even larger ambition: a $29 trillion industrial transformation that could reshape Africa into a competitive manufacturing and green-energy powerhouse,” Musa Ibrahim Kuchi, the initiative’s founder, was quoted as saying.
More than 1.2 billion people across the continent are expected to benefit from cleaner, more affordable energy delivered by rail. The initiative has earned the evocative nickname “Iron River of Energy,” attracted multiple partners who are expected to establish a virtual pipeline capable of transporting 100 million tonnes of hydrogen fuel annually.
Project documents indicate the initiative could create more than 70 million jobs by 2050.
The initiative has attracted notable international support, with Germany’s SMS Group and the U.S.-based Wabtec Corporation joining the technical consortium. Their involvement signals strong global confidence in the project’s feasibility and long-term value.
