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Uganda inks Shs10.8t deal with Turkish firm to build SGR

tracks

Workers laying tracks for the Standard Gauge Railway Phase 2A at Suswa section in Narok, Kenya 6 stations on August 1, 2018. PHOTO | GEORGE SAYAGIE | FILE| NMG

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By  Reuters

News agency

Thomson Reuters

What you need to know:

  • So far, only Kenya and Tanzania have made significant progress with the construction lines in their respective countries.
  • Construction of the railway, under the deal worth $3 billion), from Malaba to Kampala is expected to commence in about 42 days from October 14 with completion due in four years. 

Uganda’s government and Turkish construction firm Yapi Merkezi signed a contract to build a 272-kilometre section of railway, in a bid to boost regional trade, a Ugandan official said on Monday.

Uganda’s Standard Gauge Railway project coordinator, Perez Wamburu, said the agreement was for the first section of a planned 1,700km electric rail line, and the segment would cost 2.7 billion euros (about Shs10.8 trillion). 

Its construction will start in November, Mr Wamburu said.

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The project will increase trade and reduce transport costs, Uganda’s Works Permanent Secretary, Bageya Waiswa, said at the signing ceremony.

He said Uganda will use its own funds and credit from export credit organisations to finance the project, which will take 48 months to complete once started.

The rail section will run from the capital Kampala to Malaba at the border with Kenya, connecting landlocked Uganda to its neighbour’s rail network and on to the Indian Ocean seaport of Mombasa.

Uganda had entered into an agreement in 2015 with the China Harbour and Engineering Company Ltd (CHEC) to implement the project on condition the firm helped secure funds for the railway from the Chinese government.

After years of fruitless talks, Uganda last year terminated the agreement and entered talks with Yapi Merkezi, which is carrying out a similar project in neighbouring Tanzania.

In 2013, the leaders of Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, South Sudan and Rwanda broke ground on the construction of the SGR to connect the member states and boost trade in the region, which is home to more than 300 million people.

So far, only Kenya and Tanzania have made significant progress with the construction lines in their respective countries.

- Additional reporting by The EastAfrican and Kabona Esiara

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