Reported by
Faridah N Kulumba
Governments of Uganda and Kenya finally teamed up on rehabilitating old metre gauge rail project eyeing the South Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo market.
The preparations on the Northern Corridor are in full gear, after the officials from Uganda and Kenya met last week to thrash out operational details to push the rehabilitation and connection of the old metre gauge railway line which will link the two countries from Malaba.
Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Transport and Infrastructure James Macharia told The East African that he met his Uganda counterpart General Edward Katumba Wamala together with Chinese embassy officials to discuss the metre gauge railway operations.
This meeting was part of the concession talks between China Roads and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) and Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) to have the Chinese firm take on the rehabilitation project from Naivasha to Kampala. “We came here to assist them conclude this deal. It has been done,” Mr Macharia told the EastAfrican.
Uganda-Kenya Metre-gauge railway stalled
2020 was a year of mixed fortunes for railways in East Africa as plans to construct new standard gauge railways lines in Kenya and Uganda stalled, forcing railways to divert more of their resources to refurbishing sections of their metre-gauge railways (MGR).
Both countries unsuccessfully sought additional funding to complete the ambitious 1243km standard gauge railway (SGR) project to link Mombasa with Kampala.
Unfortunately, Kenya failed to obtain funding for the remaining two phases of the SGR network, the 262km phase 2B between Naivasha and Kisumu and the 107km phase 2C linking Kisumu and Malaba on the Kenya-Uganda border.
Uganda government in June 2020 approved $US 376m to refurbish the 215km Malaba-Kampala MGR line, $US 12m to purchase locomotives and additional $US 2.5m was approved for repairs to the MGR network.
Renewed Vibrancy
This new vibrancy reflects the two countries’ urgency to access and dominate markets beyond their borders after years of failure to build a Northern Corridor standard gauge railway for Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan.
According to The EastAfrican, Kenya which is revamping its metre gauge railway line from Naivasha to Malaba, wants a reliable mode of transport for onward transit of cargo into the hinterland to make its logistics infrastructure operational, particularly the Naivasha inland container depot. Besides that, Kenya is also targeting the $92.3 million Congolese market for its manufactured goods.
On the other hand the Uganda Railways Corporation managing director Stanley Sendegeya revealed that Uganda is targeting to move cargo from road to rail in order to cut costs. “Our target is to move cargo from road to rail, and we expect to be moving 6 million tonnes a year. And once we do this,rail project the costs will com down,” said Sendegeya. Once all components are fully revamped, it would constitute a significant part of Uganda’s infrastructure diplomacy in the Great lakes Region.
The significance
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said last October, as he launched the second phase of Kenya’s Standard Gauge Railway project running from the capital of Nairobi to Naivasha that: “Without infrastructure there will be no investors. Without investors, there will be no jobs for our youth”.
Mr John Ndagaano, who works in Uganda Railways Corporation told Africa Press that the rehabilitation of Uganda-Kenya old meter gauge railway will economically benefit Ugandans most especially those who are exporting and importing goods, because it will be cheaper, as well as creating jobs and cutting journey time.
The project will also make it easier for the passengers to travel between destinations. And it will open up Africa for both domestic and international business opportunities, trade, connections and tourism.
Signed in 2013 as part of the Northern Corridor Integration Projects, the SGR has only been operational in Kenya from Mombasa to Nairobi since 2018, but is yet to take shape in Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan.
