People in East Africa are awaiting a Chinese-built Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project set to run from Kenya’s coastal city of Mombasa to Rwanda’s capital Kigali through Uganda, the latest in a spate of efforts to facilitate transportation and boost trade in the eastern Africa region.
It is expected to cover a distance of about 2 935 kilometres, featuring passenger trains with a speed of 120 km per hour and freight trains designed to move at 80 km per hour.
Many African people are upbeat about the prospect of good results once the railway project is completed, saying it will be the backbone of the East African countries’ public transport system and a key component of growth.
“The project will redefine the concept of regional transportation, providing Rwandans and visitors with a fast world- class transportation system,” said Eric Komugisha, an engineering graduate in Kigali.
“A fast and efficient means of transport is all that we need to develop. If possible, some of us would like to travel more often to neighboring countries and explore new businesses once the railway network is completed,” said Daniel Kamau, a Kenyan newspaper vendor.
China in May 2014 signed a deal to build a US$3,8 billion rail link between Kenya’s Mombasa and Nairobi, the first phase of a line that will eventually link Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan.
Under the deal, Exim Bank of China will provide 90% of the cost to replace the decades-old British colonial-era line with a 609 KM standard-gauge link while Kenya will fund the balance of 10%.
Construction on the Kenyan side started in October to take three and half years to complete, with China Communications Construction Co. the main contractor.
Experts said the project could place the east Africa region at par with the world’s advanced countries whose railway projects have played a key role in industrialisation and modernisation.
Rwanda’s state minister for transport Alexis Nzahabwanimana said by March 2016, areas where the railway line would pass will have been demarcated, adding that Rwanda needs about US$1,2 billion to meet the cost of the project.
Nampa-Xinhua