Kenya: Railway Plans for Upgrade Almost Ready

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Business Daily (Nairobi)

2 July 2008
Posted to the web 2 July 2008

Allan Odhiambo

Kenya's master plan for two new railway lines to be built under the East African Community (EAC) initiative will be ready in two weeks.

Work on the blueprints is complete and will soon be presented to the secretariat for incorporation into the regional plan, said Mr Amason Kingi, the Minister for EAC.

The plans seeks to build 15 railway lines connecting at least seven countries in 12 years. The regional railway network expansion and modernisation plan also seeks to rope in Ethiopia and Southern Sudan - who are not members of the EAC.

Tanzania- the top most beneficiary - will get eight new standard gauge (SG) lines to link it with neighbouring Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda.

Kenya will get two SG railway lines running from the coastal town of Lamu to Juba and Addis Ababa. Another one will be running parallel to the current one from Mombasa to Kampala.

One of the railway lines will connect Garissa with Addis Ababa while the other will connect Lamu to Juba through Garissa.

In his budget speech read on June 12, Finance minister Amos Kimunya flagged the project with a promise that it would be supported by the Government because of its potential to spur trade with the region.

"We will need to make significant investment in the expansion and modernisation of our railway infrastructure. This will be an investment in a standard gauge railway network linking Kenya and its neighbours," the minister said.

Mr Kingi said improvement of the railways was key to successful regional integration as it would ensure speedy inter-connectivity to markets.

"Tackling infrastructure problems is key for the region because roads and rail networks provide avenues for trade," the minister said.

In Kenya and Uganda, the initiative will culminate in a parallel railway line to the current one that is being run by a consortium of private investors led by South Africa's Sheltam Corporation.

The consortium, which is operating under the Rift Valley Railways trade mark, has recently come under pressure for failing to improve the quality of services in the 100 year old railway line.

Though Uganda is set to get just four new lines under the deal, analysts said it will get the best level of connectivity because the proposed lines will pass through key economic regions.

EAC director of planning Phillip Wambugu last week told a regional investment summit in Kigali, Rwanda that the metre gauge railway lines being used in the region had become obsolete resulting in high operation costs and minimal returns for businesses.

"The existing metre gauge railway will not support the region's transport needs irrespective of the level of investment put into it," he said.

The official urged member countries to form consultative groups to spearhead the design and implementation of the new railway projects that could revolutionise trade in the region.

It is estimated that it will require at least $180 million to restore the regional railway's performance to where it was 20 years ago. Though the Kenya-Uganda railway was concessioned to a private firm Rift Valley Railways, it has failed to live up to the expectation of many with services remaining at their lowest.

Both the Kenyan and Ugandan government have expressed frustration on the poor services and urged the concessionaire to adopt new strategies.

"The Government is seeking a remedial by the concessionaire to turn around the performance of the railway and ensure achievement of the concession objectives. We expect this plan to articulate detailed actions to improve the quality of the tracks,increase locomotive and wagon capacities and substantially increase cargo through put," Mr Kimunya said in his budget speech.

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