Megaproject expected to unlock vast potential

Kenya has launched one of its largest infrastructure projects, a transformative railway development expected to unlock the vast economic potential of the country's western region, where millions depend on agriculture, livestock and fishing for their livelihoods.

The project aims to enhance connectivity, lower the cost of moving goods and open new market opportunities for farmers, pastoralists and fishing communities along the northern corridor, which also links Kenya to Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi.

The 263-kilometer Standard Gauge Railway links Naivasha to Kisumu, connecting to the existing Chinese-built Nairobi-Mombasa line completed in 2017, which connects the capital to the port city of Mombasa, extending the modern railway deeper into the country's agricultural heartlands and toward Kisumu, a regional trade hub on Lake Victoria.

Speaking during the launch on Thursday, Kenyan President William Ruto said extending the railway to Kisumu and eventually to Malaba at the Uganda border will consolidate Kenya's role as the logistics backbone of East and Central Africa.

"A railway that terminates at Naivasha is incomplete because it does not reach the major production zones of western Kenya or connect with the lake transport ecosystem in Kisumu," Ruto said during the launch in Narok on Thursday.

He noted that cargo from the Port of Mombasa reached 7.37 million metric tons in the first half of 2023, with nearly 70 percent destined for neighboring Uganda, yet goods still take up to 80 hours to reach Malaba and over 100 hours to Uganda's capital Kampala due to slow transport links.

The railway will link Nairobi's industrial corridor to key agricultural zones such as Narok, Bomet, Kericho and Nyamira before reaching the commercial hub of Kisumu.

Job opportunities

Western Kenya is a major producer of tea, maize, sugar and rice, while the Lake Victoria basin supports a vibrant fishing industry. Ruto said the new railway will lower transport costs, increase freight volumes, create jobs during construction and decongest roads by shifting cargo from trucks to rail.

"The corridor holds immense economic potential. By linking production zones directly to the railway network, we transform the SGR into a two-way economic system that moves imports inland and exports outward," he said.

Construction will be undertaken by China Communications Construction Company, whose chairman, Song Hailiang, said the project, part of the Belt and Road Initiative, reflects deepening infrastructure cooperation between China and Kenya.

Building on the experience of the Mombasa-Nairobi SGR, the chairman pledged to build a greener and more inclusive railway that will adopt higher environmental and sustainability standards.

The Nairobi-Mombasa wildlife corridors and ecological protection measures have been recognized by the United Nations Environment Programme as a model of environmental cooperation between China and Kenya.

"Green design and low-carbon construction will be implemented along the entire route, while the railway alignment will be optimized to avoid ecologically sensitive areas," Song said at the launch ceremony.

Kenya's Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi described the railway as a critical project for regional integration and the advancement of the African Continental Free Trade Area, noting that improved connectivity will strengthen trade across East and Central Africa.

Zhang Chi contributed to this story.

victor@chinadailyafrica.com