Kenya secures Chinese funding for crucial railway extension to Uganda
Kenya has secured a funding commitment from China’s Exim Bank for the extension of the standard gauge railway (SGR) from Naivasha, northwest of Nairobi, to the Uganda border.
Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary of Roads and Transport, Kipchumba Murkomen, announced that this project will also receive support from the African Development Bank and Kenya’s Railway Development Fund as Nairobi and Kampala continue to attract additional financiers for the cross-border SGR initiative.
“The financing of the proposed project will be done under a government-to-government arrangement between the Republic of Kenya and the People’s Republic of China through the Exim Bank of China and syndicated loans from commercial banks,” Murkomen told the East African.
Kenyan President William Ruto during Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s state visit to Nairobi on May 16, emphasised the strategic importance of extending the SGR from Naivasha to the Kenyan border town of Malaba, then onward to Uganda's capital, Kampala, and further into the Democratic Republic of Congo as an efficient and sustainable transportation route for goods.
“We have obliged our respective Ministers to take joint urgent measures to mobilize resources for the implementation of this regional shared infrastructure and report on progress by the end of 2024,” President Ruto added.
The extended railway line is expected to enhance regional connectivity, providing a competitive advantage by linking Kenya with Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda, and the DRC.
The commitment from state-owned Chinese bank follows the recent inclusion of Rwanda, Burundi, the DRC, and South Sudan in the SGR Cluster Joint Ministerial Committee. These East African states have pledged to engage development partners in securing further funding for the railway project, in a collective regional effort to bolster infrastructure and economic integration.
