Sunday, May 11, 2014
Nairobi, Kenya: Kenya and China Sunday signed a financial pact worth Sh327 billion to kick off construction of the Standard Gauge Railway.
The Public Investment Committee last month gave the project a go ahead, following months of tussle as to whether the tendering process was well undertaken.
Chinese PM Li Keqiang led a delegation of Chinese investors to Kenya on Saturday for a three-day official visit.
The signing of the pact was also witnessed by EAC leaders among them, Presidents Yoweri Museveni (Uganda), Paul Kagame (Rwanda), Salva Kiir (South Sudan) and representatives from Tanzania. Keqiang said signing of the agreement will f mutual benefit to both China and East African countries, most of which are developing.
The new railway is expected to connect Mombasa to Kampala and Kigali, offering an alternative to cargo transporters who presently rely on an overstretched road transport network.
Speaking during thye signing of the deal, Uhuru noted that the railway will sharply reduce the costs of moving our people and our goods within across the East Africa region while speeding integration.
“We gather today to observe the signing of agreements for the new standard gauge railway whose construction will connect one end of Kenya to another, and eventually unify all of East Africa, from the ocean to the mountains of the interior,” said the president.
Source: Standard Digital