Kenya Launches New $13.79 Billion Railway In A Bid To Boost Trade In The Region

The first phase of standard gauge railway will link the port of Mombasa in the region's biggest economy with its border town of Malaba, near Uganda to provide faster access from Kenya's port to markets, and would eventually be extended to Rwanda by 2018.While launching the flagship project, Kenya's president Uhuru Kenyatta said part of the cash for the railway will come from China adding that its completion will see a dramatic reduction in transportation costs in the region.

"Our journey to regional economic transformation is impeded by the high cost of transporting cargo by road. That is why, my government is determined that a solution to this challenge must be effected urgently," said Kenyatta

Kenyatta added that the new railway would be the first to be build by Kenyans.

Kenya's existing railway from the coast to inland parts of the country was started in 1895 when the country was still colonised by Britain.

Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda, part of the East African Community trade bloc, had previously announced plans to extend the line that starts in Kenya's Mombasa seaport but had not given a timing. While extending the line, the existing route will also be upgraded.

Kenyatta said the railway is part of plans to improve infrastructure, and to hasten transit cargo fromKenya's port of Mombasa.

"Presently, our region relies almost exclusively on road transport whose maintenance cost is not only high but unsustainable. Moreover, it is important to note that this costs translate to higher prices for our goods and services than the prices for goods in places with good and efficient transport infrastructure," he said

Work on the first section by the state owned China Road and Bridge construction is expected to be complete by 2017 while the next phase that takes the tracks to Kigali via Kampala will be completed in 2018.

"This conscious informs us for the need and initiative to build a high speed, high capacity standard gauge railway line connecting Mombasa to Kampala and onward to Kigali. To cement the consensus, our governments have signed a trilateral agreement to expedite the development of this railway," said Kenyatta

In August, Kenya commissioned a new $67 million berth in August with capacity for bigger vessels at the port of Mombasa, the gateway for land-locked east African nations but which suffers from heavy congestion.

The leaders of the east African countries have also agreed to the waiving of visa fees within the region, and sought ways to lower the cost of air travel.

Kenya, Uganda and South Sudan are also considering building of an interconnected oil pipeline to a new port being developed on Kenya's northern coast, enabling crude exports.

Should South Sudan agree to the project, the pipeline would provide a route to export its crude oil, which now relies on a pipeline through its northern neighbour Sudan with rows between the two always disrupting flow.

Kenyatta said the railway network would not leave out Tanzania, also a member of the EAC, which has criticised the other countries for excluding it in their meetings to plan infrastructure projects, including the port, roads and railway.

Kenyatta said there were plans to connect the railway through the Kenyan coastal town of Taveta to Arusha on the border between Kenya and Tanzania and onwards to the commercial capital Dar-es-Salaam, but did not give a timeframe.