The discovery of oil, gas and mineral deposits in East Africa has paved the way for ambitious infrastructure projects that have attracted at least $3.4 billion from international lenders in the past year. The World Bank, the European Union and China are the region’s main infrastructure financiers. According to the Deloitte African Construction Trends Report 2016, Kenya had initiated the highest number of projects, 11, followed by Ethiopia and Uganda, with nine projects each, and Tanzania with eight. China and the EU have been the biggest financiers of Kenya’s infrastructure projects, with roads taking the biggest share of the funds. The EU, in partnership with other lenders — the German Development Bank (KfW), the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the African Development Bank — is funding key roads on the Northern Corridor, including the $151.7 million Mombasa-South Sudan link road and the $152.2 million Mombasa-Mariakani road. Walter Tretton, head of infrastructure in the EU delegation to Kenya, said the new link roads are a game-changer, in some places cutting the journey from days to hours. “The new roads will also help reduce congestion while improving the competitiveness of the port of Mombasa,” Mr Tretton said. Northern Corridor The EU, through the Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund (EU-ITF), has given $22 million to fund the Mombasa-Mariakani road while KfW and EIB have given $55.2 million each. Kenya is expected to inject $19.8 million. The proposed Kitale-Morpus road in western Kenya, which is expected to eventually link Tanzania and South Sudan through Kenya, will be...

The Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) is offering its pilots refresher courses to enable them handle bigger ships that dock at the Mombasa port. The State agency said the training is in accordance with the International Maritime Organisation resolution of December 5, 2003, which provide guidelines on training, certification and operation procedures for maritime pilots other than deep sea pilots. “We had the opportunity to board various ship types of between 260 to 366 metres long and we were also exposed to day and night pilotage on varied ship sizes through Hamburg port,” said Joel Ojowi, one of the trainees in the last group to take courses. Others were Ali Abdille, Alfred Munga and Hassan Khamis. The pilots were trained on post-Panamax class ships and use of portable pilot unit at the University of Applied Sciences in Bremen and had their practicals at Hamburg port, which has a similar layout as the Mombasa channel, officials said. Two years ago, the KPA sent six other pilots for a similar training in Bremen. The training covered key areas of ship handling simulation, master-pilot exchange, pilot passage planning, ship handling and manoeuvring portable pilot unit, tug assistance in ports and confined water and ships hydrodynamics. Source: Business Daily

Construction of phase two and three of the Dongo Kundu bypass could soon be underway after the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) issued an advert seeking bidders for the tender. The roads agency says the government has secured funds for construction of the road that is expected to ease congestion at the Likoni channel where ferries break down perennially. The bypass, which is part of a plan targeting regional trade with a special economic zone, is scheduled for completion in 2018. Works in phase two will involve construction of two bridges - one at Mwache which will be 660 metres long and another one at Mteza 1,440 metres long - as well as a sightseeing bay. At least 88 hectares of mangroves will also be replanted, according to the notice. Early this year, the State announced it had received a loan of Sh25 billion to commence works on the key infrastructure. Phase two of the project consists of an 8.9-kilometre road between Mwache Junction and Mteza, while phase three will be a 6.9-kilometre stretch between Mteza and Kibundani, linking the highway with the Likoni-Lunga Lunga road. “Bidders should deposit a security of an unconditional bank guarantee of Sh200 million for phase one of the project and Sh50 million for the third phase,” KeNHA said in the notice published in local dailies on Tuesday. “There will be a site visit and pre-bid meeting which will be held on June 14 at the KeNHA regional offices,” it added. First stage complete Construction...

Dar es Salaam — Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni yesterday dropped strong hints on why he chose Tanzania over Kenya as the exit route for its oil pipeline. Speaking in Dar es Salaam yesterday at the signing of a joint communique that signals conclusion of negotiations between the two countries over the pipeline President Museveni indicated that his personal relationship with Tanzania, and especially, his role as a follower of Mwl Julius Nyerere, was vital in pushing him towards Tanzania for the pipeline deal. President John Magufuli's no nonsense, walk-the-talk leadership style seems to be another deciding factor. "I have been a follower of Mwalimu Nyerere since 1963. And the main reasons that I supported Mwalimu were his stance against tribalism, patriotism, his support for Africa liberation movement and his stance on the East Africa Federation," President Museveni said. The 1,443 kilometres long pipeline dubbed the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) from Kabeele (Hoima District in Uganda) to the Tanga Port was initially expected to pass through Kenya. When Uganda opted for Tanzania last year the reasons cited were the low cost of the pipeline construction due to the fact that the Tanzanian terrain is less rugged, the existence of a port at Tanga as opposed to constructing a new one at Lamu and less land compensation due to lower price of land in Tanzania. Speaking at the same event yesterday in the State House President Magufuli repeated these factors as having had a sway over Uganda's choice for Tanzania....

The Zanzibar National Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (ZNCCIA)has launched non-tariff barrier (NTB) monitoring and electronic certificate of origin systems to facilitate advocacy and monitoring of NTBs that curtail the growth of trade. NTBs are the restrictions occasioned by prohibitions, conditions or market requirements that make import or export trade expensive or difficult. The NTB monitoring system will enable the Chamber to improve Zanzibar’s business environment by developing evidence-based advocacy through realistic data and information gathered; while the electronic certificate of origin will ease the issuance of certificates of origin by reducing the physical movement required and time taken to process the document from current four days to only a few hours. The systems were funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) through regional trade facilitation lobby group TradeMark Africa (TMA). “We are grateful to TradeMark Africa for extending their support to ZNCCIA with these two important systems. We expect these systems to contribute significantly to the improved business competitiveness here in Zanzibar,” ZNCCIA Executive Director, Munira Humoud said. Similar systems launched by the Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (TCCIA) have resulted in the issuance of one thousand electronic certificates of origin and elimination of 90 NTBs. TCCIA’s SMS system has received more than two thousand SMSs whose information will be catalogued to help eliminate the NTBs identified. TMA Tanzania Country Director John Ulaga said the systems would enable the private sector in Zanzibar to advocate for an improved and competitive business environment. Source: FootPrint...

Uhuru Kenyatta, the President of Kenya, declares the organization of distinct economic zones, based on China`s experience. According to him, they are to be established near newly-built transport links. Kenyatta emphasizes it is a critical issue for fighting unemployment in his country. As Tuko Kenya reports, the President invoked China to rebalance a progressively more skewed trade relationship between Chine and Africa. He also added that China should do more to seize a huge trade deficit. Owing to the price fall in such local goods as copper, iron ore, oil, and cocoa, Africa’s trade balance with China has been determinedly moving into deficit. For example, in 2015, more than 50 African countries had a 35 billion dollars deficit with China on the whole trade of over 170 billion dollars. Such figures were declared at Johns Hopkins University by the China-Africa Research Initiative. Undoubtedly, Kenya is the most developed economy in East Africa. It means that it depends less on commodities than plenty of other African countries. However, in 2015, Kenya imported almost six billion dollars worth of goods from China but exported just 99 million dollars of assets in return. Uhuru Kenyatta attended the forum of China’s flagship Belt and Road regional infrastructure program that took place last weekend in Beijing. During the discussion, the President declared that he would do his best to push the process of increasing China-Africa trade. He also added that if Beijing wanted its win-win strategy to work, it would have to realize finally that...

What are the primary non-tariff barriers in Kenya? FRANK MATSAERT: The non-tariff barriers that affect Kenya the most are often imposed by Kenya itself. The first problem is weighbridges with the amount of delays, traffic congestion, overloading and transparency. The second problem is roadblocks, particularly on the trade corridor between Tanzania and Kenya. The third problem revolves around border institutions, particularly those with Tanzania and Uganda. Here, the border crossings open at varying times and when trucks arrive, they need to wait until the crossing opens. They also often still need to show physical rather than electronic documents, which hinders efficiency. Lastly, there’s also an issue with standards recognition between countries, and sometimes there are multiple institutions required to export and move goods around. This obviously creates quite a lot of complications for companies doing business on both sides of the border, and these all heavily affect the country’s neighbours. As far as remedies go, weighbridges can be replaced with modern weigh-in-motion bridges. Not only that, they can be linked across borders as well. To remedy the roadblock issue is a bit trickier, but it should definitely include more monitoring of roadblocks and making the private sector more aware of the cost that they incur for companies. For border institutions, revenue authorities should simply agree on a standard 24-hour opening for busy borders so traffic congestion can be avoided. Document processing should also be automated. For standards recognition, the main driver for efficiency will be harmonisation and mutual recognition. How...

Billed as the biggest project in Kenya since independence, the first phase of the country's Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) is ready for operation, and is expected to be launched on May 31 by President Uhuru Kenyatta. The Chinese-funded project will significantly ease movement of people and goods between Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa and the capital Nairobi. Ultimately, the line is expected to go beyond Kenya's borders into Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and South Sudan. The Mombasa-Nairobi phase of the project was built at cost of 3.8 billion US dollars, with China Exim Bank providing 90 percent of the financing while the remaining 10 percent was contributed by the Kenyan Government. The single-track standard gauge railway between Mombasa and Nairobi stretches 472 kilometers out of the total length, 609 kilometers. While passengers spend more than 10 hours traveling between the two cities, the SGR trains will shorten that duration to about 4-5 hours. Also, it will take about eight hours for the cargo train to travel between Nairobi and Mombasa, unlike the trucks that spend more than two days making that journey. The railway line is designed to transport 22 million tonnes of cargo a year, or a projected 40 percent of Mombasa Port throughput by 2035. The passenger trains will shuttle at an average speed of 120km/h, while the cargo trains, 80km/h. During the launch of the SGR, President Uhuru will be joined by other high-profile dignitaries including Chinese ambassador to Kenya Liu Xianfa, vice...

Nairobi, KENYA| PSCU| President Uhuru Kenyatta will on May 31 commission the first phase of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) that has been completed on budget, 18 months ahead of schedule. State House Spokesperson Manoah Esipisu said China – who provided the funds through loans that ensured the SGR was built – will be sending a senior delegation of the State Council including two ministers and one vice minister to attend the launch in Mombasa. “China has been, in the last few years, a loyal partner in our transformational agenda particularly as relates to the development of economic physical infrastructure,” Esipisu said on Sunday during his weekly briefing at State House, Nairobi. He said President Kenyatta is also expected to officiate at events on the container terminal at the SGR on May 30 before taking the inaugural ride from Mombasa to Nairobi on May 31. “That ride will include a number of stops along the way to commission some of the new stations as well as to address people that are resident in some of the counties that the SGR passes through,” the State House Spokesperson said. Esipisu said President Kenyatta strongly believes that infrastructure is at the core of development, growth and creating opportunity for young people and that is why when he was invited by President Xi Jinping to visit Beijing for an infrastructure conference last week, he gladly accepted. At the Beijing conference, Kenyatta reached agreement on new partnerships with China, which are expected to further support...

Beijing — The Forum on China-Africa Corporation (FOCAC) has expressed interest in providing funds for construction of Mwambani port in Tanga region, towards improving the country's maritime transportation, enhancing economic growth and creating jobs. The hint was dropped in Beijing last week, as one of the by-products of a meeting between the Minister for Works, Transport and Communications, Prof Makame Mbarawa, and members of a panel that manages FOCAC funds. He told the 'Daily News': "They want to know the government's plans on the project. We are currently encouraging the Public Private Partnership (PPP) system in executing such major investments... but they are ready to finance construction of the port." The minister pointed out that the government was determined to push the port project through, for the benefit of Tanzanians and people elsewhere in Africa. He explained, furthermore, that, the envisaged Tanzania-China flights by the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, will smoothen transportation to the Chinese cities of Guangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai, as well European countries. The minister said plans for buying another aircraft, which is included in the next national budget, would boost tourist inflow tremendously. "The government is keen to ensure that within five years, the national flag carrier, ATCL, is revived to specifically promote the tourism industry and business growth, because we believe that if you invest in the aviation sector, other sectors will grow as well," he said. He stressed, however, that simultaneous with buying new planes must be expansions and improvements of the Julius Nyerere International Airport...