Shares in China Railway Construction Corp fell 18 per cent in Hong Kong yesterday on news Nigeria had suspended its $8.3bn contract to modernise a north-south line across the African nation.

In a stock market filing, CRCC said Nigeria's transport ministry had taken over control of work on the 1,315km line between southern Lagos city and northern Kano and would take about 90 days to "redefine" the scope of the contract.