Prime
EAC to review region’s transport approach
TO BE REVIEWED: A section of the Uganda-Kenya railway.
Experts, sector players and the private sector are today commencing talks on how to validate the draft final report of the East African Transport Strategy and Roads Development Programme in Kigali - Rwanda.
The EAC Transport Strategy is a 10-year programme that will identify short to medium term interventions required to develop transport infrastructure in the region and also support economic growth.
The strategy covers all the sub-sectors including: civil aviation - airports and facilities for regional and international scheduled connectivity and railways (existing and potential links as per EAC rail master plan).
Others include the ports and maritime, inland waterways (existing sea ports including Lamu and Mtwara), major lake ports on lakes Victoria, Tanganyika and Nyasa, plus River Kagera and all the major road corridors.
“A stand-alone roads development programme will form part of the strategy given the importance of this mode of transport in the haulage of the bigger share of import and export freight in the region,” Mr Richard Owora Othieno, the head of corporate communications at the EAC said. The three-day meeting is expected to attract over 70 delegates from the five-EAC partner states.
Mr Othieno said: “This is the final of a series of talks that have been held since the commencement of the study in June 2009.”
The participatory process has ensured that proper ownership of the document is obtained prior to its approval by the EAC policy organs.
It is expected that after the stakeholders have provided inputs into the report, the consultants - Africon from South Africa, will produce the final report which will be presented to EAC transport ministers for approval.
Thereafter, the report together with those from other sub-regional initiatives will be presented to a planned investors’ conference scheduled for September 2011 for funding considerations.
