Boost for intra-EAC trade as SGR project gains pace

Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, South-Sudan and DRC are frantically pushing to expedite the completion of construction of the joint Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) sections from Naivasha in Kenya to connect the five countries for ease of doing business.

Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen and his counterparts from the sister countries held a Joint Ministerial Committee meeting for development of the standard gauge railways in Mombasa on Friday. The meeting reviewed progress made so far in the joint efforts on the development of SGR project among the Northern Corridor Integration Projects (NCIP) partner States.

In a joint press briefing after the meeting, Murkomen and his counterparts, Jimmy Gasore of Rwanda alongside Uganda’s Fred Byamukama, stated that Kenya and Uganda have already completed the harmonisation of the technical specifications and standards for the SGR. Murkomen disclosed that Kenya is planning to leverage on the private sector for resource mobilisation to extend the SGR project from Naivasha to Malaba.

The Minister said it is estimated under the feasibility study that the project including the improvement of Kisumu Port will cost $5.3 billion which he described as quite a reasonable amount.

“Considering the economic situation, we are in as a country, we are in discussion with the private sector to see if we can structure an arrangement financially that will see Exim banks from the countries that we are in discussion with can be able the larger burned at very reasonable and concessional terms so that we can continue this journey,” Murkomen said.

He noted that the project is intended to transform the Northern corridor into an economic corridor where more investment opportunities will be created.

Economic corridor

“We don’t want it to remain just a corridor for transportation of cargo. We want to also make it an economic corridor where various investments can be established. We know a transport corridor can trigger other businesses and we want our people to benefit from these businesses,” the CS reckoned. Uganda is in the final stages of negotiations with the proposed Contractor - Yapi Merkezi in a contract expected to be signed by the end of May 2024. The ministers had agreed on joint mobilisation of resources to fast-track the start and completion of the joint project.

“We have also agreed we need to source funds jointly because these railway lines don’t stop in one country,” said Byamukama who is the Chairperson of the Joint Ministerial Committee, adding that once they source funds jointly and even sometimes when they use one contractor work always move on very smoothly.

“For example in Uganda, as far as in rehabilitating the metre gauge railway, we have used China Roads and Bridges Corporation (CRBC) which was introduced to us by the Kenya counterparts for the good work they did,” he explained. Once the project is completed, goods from Mombasa to the Ugandan border with DRC, to Rwanda and South Sudan will be ferried by rail.

Kenya and Uganda had agreed to commence the project by December last year after both sides inked a deal for the project expected to bolster efficiency in haulage of Uganda bound cargo via SGR and Metre Gauge Railway.