Kenya is reportedly seeking Ksh 380 billion from the Chinese government in order to complete the second phase of the project running from Nairobi to Naivasha by mid this year.
According to reports, Uganda’s president Yoweri Museveni’s trip to Kenya was arranged by Uhuru keen to persuade him to back the project to enable Kenya to secure the much-needed funds to push the railway line to Kisumu from Naivasha.
This will be the first time Uhuru will be going to Beijing this year after a disappointing visit in September 2018 when Chinese Premier Xi Jinping refused to approve the loan.
The Chinese leader instead asked Uhuru to conduct a commercial viability study on the entire Mombasa-Kisumu railway project and secure a financing deal with Uganda.
On Wednesday, the two heads of state held a joint press conference where Museveni renewed his decade-long commitment to co-finance the project with Kenya.
The government also pledged to allocate land in Naivasha for Uganda to develop a dry port for its cargo.
The two countries have been at loggerheads over the financing of the cross-border rail project, with China Exim Bank insisting that Kampala has to get Kenya’s commitment to building the section from Kisumu to Malaba before Uganda can secure funding for the line running from Kampala to the common border.
In October 2018, Uganda announced the suspension of its SGR plan and turned focus to revamping the old metre-gauge railway network, pending unresolved financing issues between Kenya and China.
China had also declined to approve Uganda’s loan request for its first phase of SGR from Malaba to Kampala. Museveni who had also attended the 2018 China-Africa summit hoped to secure $2.3 billion (Sh230 billion) for the phase.
Kampala accused Nairobi of sabotaging its effort to secure funding for the project. It argued that the latter had failed to commit to financing the remaining two SGR phases, that is, Naivasha to Kisumu and Kisumu to Malaba sections of the line.
