The China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) has handed over the first phase of the Federal University of Transportation, Daura to the federal government.
Speaking during the handover yesterday in Abuja, the chairman of the CCECC in Nigeria, Jason Zhang, said construction of the $50 million project, situated in Daura, Katsina State, started in 2019.
He said, “The project has led to the employment of over 1,000 youths as part of its corporate social responsibility to strengthen China’s relation with Nigeria.
“Also, the university, which is the first of its kind in Africa, will modernise transport infrastructure in Nigeria and allow young Nigerians to pursue their academic ambitions.”
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Earlier in his remarks, the Minister of Transportation, Said Alkali, said the university project was a giant initiative in partnership with the CCECC. He added that as part of the company’s corporate social responsibility, it has sponsored over 200 Nigerian students to China to study transport and rail engineering, among others
He also said the federal government would give the necessary support for the university to thrive and produce the needed capacity for growth and development in the country.
Also speaking, the vice chancellor of the Federal University of Transportation, Prof Adam Katsayal, said the institution was not a conventional university but first of its kind in Nigeria and Africa as a whole. He called on youths who are interested in building a career in transportation engineering to apply as it has commenced academic activities with 600 students.