Kenya is on track to launch its 472km Standard Gauge Railway, which links the port city of Mombasa and the capital, Nairobi.
This is the first phase of the 13.8 billion dollar line, which will connect Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and eventually South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Standard Gauge Railway formed the bulk of Chinese finance deals to Kenya signed in 2013.
Speaking about the track’s progress, Atanas Maina, Managing Director of Kenya Railways, says, “In terms of civil works, the project is 99% complete. We have laid the track and we will be starting testing and commissioning from February going through to June and we believe we will be ready for the first run by the June 01, 2017.”
Kenya is betting on the new line to decongest the port of Mombasa and her roads, while at the same time, shorten the journey for both passengers and freight. The Standard Gauge Railway has a capacity of 22 million tonnes.
“The Metre Gauge is no longer able to fully respond to the demands of this economy and the region. Its maximum capacity is 5million tons and our port is doing close to 30 million tonnes. We need a faster, efficient high capacity standard gauge railway,” says Atanas Maina.
At the construction site, work is continuing around the clock. The country’s biggest infrastructure project is taking shape and just like the meter gauge line built by the British in 1895, controversy has dogged the Standard Gauge Railway.
At least six kilometres of the line will cut through the Nairobi National Park which conservationists say will spell doom for the country’s wildlife.
Isaac Ole Kishoian, a resident living close to the Nairobi National Park says, “If the railways go through the park, the lions and all the predators will come to our villages.”
However, an engineer on the project, Wilfred Ndulu, says the necessary measures have been taken, “We have been able to discuss with the Kenya Wildlife Services and we mapped all the paths of the wildlife and we were able to provide openings so that we do not interfere with the wildlife.”
Sceptics have also argued that the line, which is 90% financed by the Exim Bank of China,  is too expensive and overly ambitious. They argue that Kenya may not have sufficient traffic volumes to meet the operational costs and repayment of the loan.
The Kenyan government says it is already reaping the benefits of the line as 20,000 people have been employed to work on the project since its inception in December 2014. Local businesses have, however, struggled to meet the 40% local content target.
“We still have a lot of work to do in order to reduce the amount of importation coming through but that does not come overnight. It is up to the business people to see these opportunities, grab them and help us to transform.”
The second phase of the line linking Nairobi to the Rift Valley town of Naivasha begins in the next few months as East Africa seeks to integrate the region’s infrastructure.
Source: SABC

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of TradeMark Africa.