The presidents of Kenya and Uganda have jointly launched the extension of a railway that gives Uganda, a landlocked country, access to the Indian Ocean

The extension of the Chinese-built Standard Gauge Railway starts from Kenya‘s city of Kisumu to the town of Malaba, at the border with Uganda.

“It was never a railway to nowhere; it was always our plan that this Kisumu-Malaba SGR was going to be a railway to prosperity and the transformation of Kenya,“ Kenya’s President William Ruto said at the launch.

The extension of the railway had stalled for over six years after China froze funding.

‘Heavy cargo’

For landlocked Uganda which heavily depends on Kenya’s port of Mombasa, the railway line will ease transportation of its cargo.

“This railway is part of the rationalisation of our transport system especially on the Uganda side, which is irrational and wasteful. Our plan is to transfer all heavy cargo to the railway,” Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni said at the launch.

Over the past 8 years, the SGR has transported more than 15 million passengers and over 45 million tonnes of freight.

The railway's first section, linking the port of Mombasa to Nairobi, was completed in 2017.

But after China slashed funding for large African infrastructure projects under its Belt and Road Initiative, the project stalled in the Rift Valley, more than 350 km short of the Ugandan border, holding up a planned cross-border link to boost regional connectivity and commerce.

‘Reduced transport cost’

“It has reduced transport cost, improved efficiency and contributed significantly to growth of our economy,” President Ruto added.

Kenya is now using a railway development levy charged on cargo carried on the existing line, estimated to raise about $270 million annually, as seed money for the construction of new phases.

China remains involved in the expansion project with China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) the main contractor for the new phase.

Since the commencement of the construction of Standard Gauge Railway in 2014, freight operations have generated more that 1.3b Kenya shillings very month while passenger revenue has grown by 40%.