The plan involves Kenya laying 368 km of track from Naivasha, where the current SGR line to the Port of Mombasa ends, to Malaba, a town situated on the border with Uganda. Uganda will be responsible for the 272 km section from Malaba to Kampala and beyond.

The recent agreement, which was signed between Kenya’s transport cabinet secretary Kipchumba Murkomen and  Uganda’s minister of works and transport Katumba Wamala, outlined plans to commence construction work in December 2023, if their plans to raise funds succeed. WorldCargo News understands that Kenya and Uganda intend to work jointly to raise the funds and plan to approach financiers of all descriptions in Europe, the Middle East and China.

The extended SGR project is important for both countries. Kenya needs to attract considerably more freight onto the SGR line in order to generate higher revenues to help it pay back the huge debt associated with building its first phase, which was completed in 2019 at a cost of over US$5B.

Uganda needs to speed up and reduce the cost of transporting goods into and out of the country. Mombasa is the main port used by Kenya’s importers and exporters, but transit times can be as long as six days and trucks, which are used to carry the majority of cargo over the 1,170 km, are unreliable. Accidents are also common, often resulting in serious injuries/deaths and cargo damage. Pilferage of cargo is also rife. All these problems would be reduced by a faster and seamless rail connection.

While some improvements have taken place recently as a result of the Kenyan Government rehabilitating the narrow, metre gauge railway line from Naivasha to Malaba, an SGR link direct to Kampala would be much quicker and more efficient. Ultimately, the plan is to extend the SGR even further, into the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and South Sudan.

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This complete item is approximately 350 words in length, and appeared in the September 2023 issue of WorldCargo News, on page 14. To access this issue download the PDF here