"We’re bullish on Nigeria," GE’s president for transportation for Africa and CEO of its South African business, Thomas Konditi, said on Wednesday. "We met with a couple of the incoming leadership and they’ve put rail right behind power. They don’t have mines as much, so you’re going to look for more general freight."

 

Nigeria, Africa’s biggest economy, transports only 0.1% of its freight by rail and could boost the number of locomotives to as many as 500 engines from 25 now, Mr Konditi said at the World Economic Forum in Cape Town.

 

The company plans to resume talks with the new government in Nigeria on an agreement with the previous administration for 200 locomotives, he said. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari took office on Friday after defeating Goodluck Jonathan in March elections.

 

While nine of the world’s 15 fastest-growing economies are in Africa, some countries are contending with a downturn in commodity prices, power cuts and political instability. Power shortages and a lack of infrastructure including rail, are limiting growth, and offer opportunities for investment.

 

The CEO of GE, Jeff Immelt, has identified Africa as one of the company’s most important growth areas, with plans to invest $2bn in the region by 2018 as well as doubling its workforce on the continent.

 

The Africa spending by GE would go into developing facilities, improving supply chains and for training workers, he said last year.

 

GE’s African revenues wouldbe more than $4bn this year, led by Nigeria, Angola and SA, compared with about $1bn in 2010, according to Mr Konditi. The company could open a manufacturing facility in Nigeria if there is demand for more locomotives, he said.

 

"Five years from now, I don’t know why we shouldn’t be up to the $8bn -$10bn range," Mr Konditi said, referring to revenue from Africa in dollars.

 

GE’s sales from the Middle East and Africa of $15.6bn last year were about 10.6% of the company’s total revenue.

 

Ethiopia, the continent’s second-most populous country after Nigeria, also offered investment opportunities, particularly in the health-care industry, he said. "We’re probably going to open a health-care assembly facility in Ethiopia," as the government built new hospitals, Mr Konditi said.

Source : Business Day