The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has stated that it will bring in 100 rice processing mills from China that will make Nigeria self-sufficient in rice production in the next eighteen months.

Briefing state house correspondents after the Council meeting on Wednesday, the Minister for Agriculture, Dr Akinwunmi Adesina explained that the decision was taken, following a recent trip to China by a Nigerian delegation led by the Minister of Finance and the coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

He said that the rice mills will produce 2.1 million metric tons of rice per year which will allow Nigeria to have the full milling capacity for all the rice the country imports.

Dr Adesina recently told Channels Television that the country spends N365 billion to import rice annually at the cost of N1 billion per day.

The FEC also announced plans to work with the People’s Republic of China to mordernise the Lagos –Ibadan railway line.

According to the Minister of Transportation, Senator Idris Umar, working with China EXIM bank, Nigeria should take a lead to mordernise its railway.

He cited examples of how China has been able to develop train system that moves over 350-400 kilometres per hour insisting that the 150-180 kilometres of railway modernisation should be on stream in no distant time.

Chinese company, China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) is already involved in the construction of the Okokomaiko-Marina Lagos Rail Mass Transit with the Lagos state government.

The federal executive council also awarded contract for the modernisation of the canal jetty at the Terminal C of the old Warri port for the tune of N9.406 billion.