Nairobi — The government has committed to start the construction of the Naivasha-Kisumu-Malaba and Malaba-Kampala Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) line by December.
In a joint communique following a meeting of regional Cabinet Secretaries and Ministers Friday, Kenya and Uganda have completed the harmonization of the technical specifications and standards.
“The Cabinet Secretary/Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to Expedite the completion of construction of the remaining SGR sections from Naivasha in Kenya to Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan and DRC and develop an implementation roadmap,” read the communique.
The Ministers have also committed to establishing a framework that facilitates cross-border maintenance of the SGR assets and facilities.
Also, they have committed to harmonizing the planning and development of inland water transport infrastructure including development of navigation charts to provide seamless multimodal transport services within the NCIP.
“The Cabinet Secretary/Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to fast track the development and harmonization of the policy, legal and institutional framework for SGR and pursue joint mobilization of resources,” read the communique.
The meeting was attended by Kipchumba Murkomen, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Roads and Transport, Jimmy Gasore, Minister of Infrastructure of the Republic of Rwanda, Roger Te Biasu representing the Minister of Transport of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Fred Byamukama, Minister of State for Works and Transport (Transport) of the Republic of Uganda.)
The governments of Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda signed a tripartite agreement in 2014 to construct a standard gauge railway from Mombasa through Kampala to Kigali, Rwanda.
However, the SGR came to an abrupt end at Naivasha, allegedly because China refused to fund the remaining portion of the new railway after failing to reach a deal with Uganda.
On 31st July 2023, Kenya and Uganda jointly signed a communique on the financing and development of two significant railway projects, the Naivasha-Kisumu-Malaba Standard Gauge Railway and the Malaba-Kampala SGR, which will be implemented in their respective countries.
The deal was formalised with Transport CS Kipchumba Murkomen and his Ugandan counterpart Edward Katumba-Wamala signing an agreement.
The SGR was one of the Jubilee government’s mega projects which were aimed at helping accelerate economic growth.
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