Transport CS James Macharia is already sounding optimistic, lauding the progress made so far and noting that big impact on the economy will be recorded this year even as the tracks are laid on the 500-kilometre railway. "The laying of the tracks in itself will have a huge impact on the GDP even before completion of the project," said Mr Macharia, adding: "local businesses are expected to contribute up to 40 per cent of all supplies whilst more than 50,000 Kenyans will be employed either directly or indirectly by the project."

 

The Sh400 billion infrastructure investment links the Port of Mombasa to Kenya's capital Nairobi. Plans are underway to extend it to the landlocked Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan. Once complete, it is expected to cut the cost of transport in the region and stimulate industrial growth. The plan to construct the SGR began in 2009 through a memorandum of understanding between Kenya and Uganda to connect Kampala to the coastal port city of Mombasa.

 

However, it took a regional approach in 2013 when Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda signed a tripartite deal committing to fast track the construction of the railway to their respective capital cities. Later, South Sudan joined. The Kenya Railways Commission project manager in charge of the SGR Eng Maxwell Mengich told Smart Company that 65 per cent of the civil works are complete. "We are way ahead of schedule," said Eng Mengich, adding that "the government has been so committed to have this project completed on time."

 

About 90 per cent of the modern railway is financed by the Exim Bank of China with Kenya raising the balance. The government spent an extra Sh45.6 billion on the SGR in the year to June 2015 to accelerate its construction. The budget set aside for the project was Sh77.4 billion. As a result, the railway took an extra 0.8 per cent in GDP spending, but it is expected to contribute 2 per cent to the country's wealth annually, starting this year. In May last year, President Uhuru Kenyatta announced that Phase II of the project will start in 2016 and will see the railway extended by 120 kilometres to Naivasha from Nairobi. The rail will link a special industrial zone that would be build in the Rift Valley to Nairobi and Mombasa.

 

"There must be no laxity in terms of delivering what is one of our most transformational projects," the President said. The SGR has some iconic structures; the Nairobi-Naivasha link will cost about Sh143.5 billion, with a 5.3-kilometre tunnel, the second longest in Africa. South Africa's 13.4-kilometre Hex-River rail tunnel is the longest. Engineers from China Road and Bridge Corporation, the contractors of the modern railway, are expected to spend about 18 months drilling through the Great Rift Valley escarpment to construct the tunnel.

 

The SGR is expected to have a huge impact on the devolved units' development plans especially where it will pass through with Mombasa, Nairobi and Naivasha tipped to be the big beneficiaries. 

Source : allafrica.com