railway line, which is expected to renew the country’s rail links with neighbouring Kenya. Accordingly, the 160 mile Kampala line is expected to be linked to the standard gauge railway (SGR) track which runs from Naivasha to Malaba in Kenya.
The purpose of the project is to ensure seamless transportation of goods from Mombasa port to Uganda. It will also make the Sh477 billion SGR line economically viable, with its connection to Kampala, which is a major user of the Port of Mombasa.
Kenyan officials, who also witnessed the signing of the deal, revealed that they too have been a part of the discussions held between the Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) and the China Roads and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), over the revamping of the railway line which is expected to be completed within a year.
“We came here to assist them (Uganda) conclude this deal. It has been done. The idea is to make sure that we have a seamless operation of the metre gauge railway line from Naivasha all the way to Kampala,” Transport Cabinet Secretary of Kenya, James Macharia, said.
“We had contracted CRBC to rehabilitate the Longonot to Malaba line and the progress is good so far. So, we felt for it to make sense, Uganda had to also start doing the same for their line to make this project complete,” he added.
