EAC states to invest Sh480 billion on railway upgrade

By Luke Anami

The East African Community (EAC) has set aside Sh481 billion ($5.6 billion) to rehabilitate the Mombasa- Nairobi-Kampala railway line.

The rojects that were unveiled during the 14th EAC Heads of State summit last week in Nairobi, the railway line will be upgraded into a standard gauge.

“The following are regional priorities that have been selected for Kenya: rehabilitation / upgrade to standard gauge of Mombasa-Nairobi-Malaba- Kampala railway line at an estimated cost of Sh481 billion ($5.6b),” Eriya

Kategeya, first deputy Prime Minister and Minister for EAC from Uganda, said in a statement. “A part from the Mombasa-Nairobi- Kampala railway, EAC is also set to rehabilitate the Voi-Taveta railway line at an estimated cost of Sh17.18 billion ($200 million).”

Standard gauge

Under the 10-year plan to have the railway system working, the Heads of State agreed to have all railway lines in the region upgraded to standard gauge. Other projects are the construction of Lamu-Isiolo-Moyale- Adiss-Ababa, Isiolo-Nadapal-Juba and

Nairobi-Isiolo standard gauge railway lines at an estimated cost of $4.4 billion.

The projects were identified during the special session on infrastructure, which was chaired by President Mwai Kibaki, the outgoing chairman of the EAC.

“The Secretariat secured funding from the Indian Trust Fund of the African Development Bank (AfDB) for setting up of a Railways Unit which will enhance the capacity of the secretariat to develop regional railways projects,” Kategeya, who is the chairman of EAC Council of ministers, added.

The AfDB, through the NEPAD infrastructure projects preparation facility, granted the Secretariat Sh103 million ($1.2 million) to conduct prefeasibility studies for priority projects in the East African railways master plan, in order to develop bankable projects for investment. The study is expected to commence in February 2013.

Activities including the railway construction and rehabilitation programme commenced on the roadmap agreed at the Tripartite IGAD Infrastructure Investment Conference held in September 2011.

Projects approved

The Secretariat, with support from Trade Mark East Africa, engaged a consultant to develop detailed profiles for priority projects along the Central and Northern Corridors. The projects were validated by stakeholders in October 2012 and will be presented to EAC policy organs for adoption in early 2013.

A dysfunctional railway system, an inefficient road network and inadequate power supply have been the major bottlenecks to investment in East Africa, a market of about 130 million people.

The EAC Infrastructure and Financing retreat also focused on roads, energy, and maritime sectors. Buoyed by the construction of the Arusha —Namanga — Athi River Road project, which was substantially completed on the Kenyan side in September 2011 and on the Tanzanian side in May 2012, the EAC has already earmarked other roads.