Kenya Launches New Railway to Reach South Sudan and Burundi

Nairobi, 29 Nov 2013 (SDN) -Kenya has formally launched a new, Chinese-financed railway which should extend across East Africa to reach South Sudan, DR Congo and Burundi. The first section will link the Kenyan port of Mombasa to the capital, Nairobi, reducing the journey time from 15 hours to about four.

It is said to be the country’s biggest infrastructure project since independence 50 years ago.

The cost of the railway will be $5.2bn (£3.2bn) – mostly funded by China.

Some Kenyans have complained that the contract was given to the Chinese state-owned China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) without going to tender.

‘Historic milestone’

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping agreed the deal in August in Beijing.

It is also hoped that the railway will reduce congestion in Mombasa, one of Africa’s busiest ports.

The current railway network dates back to the colonial era.

After the Nairobi section is finished, with completion due in 2017, it will be extended through Uganda, with branch lines west to Kisangani in the Democratic Republic of Congo, south through Rwanda to Burundi and north to South Sudan.

Passenger trains will travel at a top speed of 120 km/h (75 mph), while freight trains will have a maximum speed of 80 km/h.

“What we are doing here today will most definitely transform… not only Kenya but the whole eastern African region,” President Kenyatta told crowds at the ceremony, calling it an “historic milestone”, the AFP news agency reports.

“As a result East Africa will become a competitive investment destination,” the agency quoted him as saying.

Source: BBC