The 66km line is being constructed by a consortium of China’s Avic International and China Railway Group under a $US 1.24bn contract awarded in August 2017. According to the minister, the loan matures in five years and has a 1.8% interest rate. The deal includes $US 461m for infrastructure and $US 739m for rolling stock. Last month the consortium awarded CRRC Sifang a contract to supply and maintain 22 six-car trains for the new line. For detailed data on rail projects in Africa, subscribe to IRJ Pro.