Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen on Friday, July 28, announced that Kenya and Uganda have signed an agreement to extend the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) to the neighboring country.
Murkomen - who made the announcement after signing the documents at the SGR Mombasa Terminus, said the SGR extension will begin from Naivasha, pass through Kisumu, and reach the Malaba border, connecting to the Malaba-Kampala route on the Uganda side.
The agreement stipulates that the construction of the SGR extension will be carried out concurrently to ensure the timely completion of the project.
To bolster trade and investments, both nations have decided to incorporate the construction of industrial parks and dry ports along the rail route. The strategic move aims to facilitate the movement of goods and drive economic development in the region.
The railway will facilitate the transportation of fuel, currently carried out by trucks along the Mombasa-Nairobi-Kisumu Highway.
"The signing of this communique, saw the two countries commit to undertaking the SGR extension project as a regional project under the Northern Corridor Integration Projects Initiative.
"Uganda has committed to ensuring that SGR is extended to the border with Rwanda, South Sudan and DRC Congo as soon as possible to further improve the viability and attractiveness of the financing of the SGR along the Northern Corridor," read the statement in part.
Both Uganda and Kenya will seek financing for the multi-billion-dollar project. Uganda has already secured funding of Ksh327 billion in May 2023 from a global bank, with a Turkish company winning the tender.
On the other hand, the Kenyan government has not yet disclosed the exact cost of the extension within its territory.
However, back in 2019, former President Uhuru Kenyatta, who initiated the SGR project, attempted to secure a Ksh380 billion loan from China for the extension, but unfortunately, he was unsuccessful in obtaining the funding during his 2019 trip to Beijing.
Interestingly, State House denied that Uhuru travelled to China to secure the loan after newspapers blasted the former Head of State and Former Prime Miniter Raila Odinga who was supporting the move.
"It is very disappointing to read excerpts from the newspapers. The President cannot be said to be returning home empty-handed for something he did not request," former State House Chief of Staff Nzioka Waita stated then.
Nonetheless, in December 2022, China, through its ambassador to Kenya, Zhou Pingjian, offered to support the extension of the SGR during the inspection of the Inland Container Depot (ICD) in Mai Mahiu Naivasha.
“Kenya is our great friend and we are ready to partner with it in the other transport infrastructure projects including the SGR and roads,” the diplomat stated.
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