Nigeria has secured $1.3 billion in funding to complete a railway project connecting Kano, the largest city in the north, to Maradi in neighbouring Niger, the transport ministry said on Wednesday.

The railway line will build on existing economic and social ties to boost trade and cultural cooperation between the two countries.

Funding will come from a consortium led by the China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC), which will contribute 85% of the total, the transport ministry said in a statement.

Nigeria’s government has sought to rebuild the impoverished north of the country, parts of which have been ravaged for the past decade by Islamist insurgents.

The project is part of a government plan to build rail networks across Nigeria to address the poor transport infrastructure that has stymied economic growth for decades.