Extension of the Standard Gauge Railway to cover 10 berths at the Kenya Ports Authority, will be complete by end of next month.

The extension involving construction of two bridges, with one going deep into the sea and the other for vehicles is expected to be complete by May 29.

Transport CS James Macharia said the sea bridge will facilitate easier movement of bulky and heavy goods and loading onto the SGR​.

“We are extending the railway line along the 10 berths so that as ships arrive, you can have the cargo coming straight from the ship into the SGR train,” the CS was quoted saying.

KPA senior principal communication officer Hajj Masemo on Monday said the project is 69 per cent complete, with the vehicle bridge already done.

The bridges are expected to drastically reduce the amount of time taken to offload goods, and upload them to the SGR for onward transportation once the entire project is complete.

Currently, cargo is offloaded from ships using cranes before being transported to the SGR line via trucks.

Maseno said engineers are expected to start mounting beams across the sea bridge by the end of April.

“For the aspects of lines construction from berth number 10 to berth number one, because those are the railway lines being put under concrete, the progress is 50 to 60 per cent complete. So the progress is on course,” Masemo said.

Chinese contractor China Road and Bridge Corporation is undertaking the construction.

Kenya International Freight and Warehousing Association chairman William Ojonyo said the project will make economic sense if time factor is considered.

“Indicators of time in terms of offloading must inform this project,” Ojonyo said on phone.

The SGR is expected to link its passenger line to Mombasa CBD, after Kenya Railways assured travellers earlier this year that it would build the connecting line from Miritini Terminus. This will reduce the time constraints that travellers must endure to reach the station, or to depart from Miritini to Mombasa City centre.

Source: The Star

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