Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has announced plans to extend the Standard Guage Railway (SGR) to South Sudan and three other countries.
Following the signing of a joint communique on Friday, May 3, Murkomen indicated that Kenya had committed to partner with South Sudan, Rwanda, Uganda and DRC to extend its railway network.
According to Murkomen, the move will see Kenya extend the SGR from Naivasha to Kisumu before being developed all through to Uganda.
As part of the working framework, the five countries will also be seeking to source funds for the development of the vast SGR line.
"This historic move seeks to enable joint resource mobilisation, expedite the completion of the construction of the remaining SGR sections from Naivasha in Kenya to Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan and DRC, and develop a roadmap that will fast-track its implementation.
"The meeting, further, sought to harmonise the planning and development of inland water transport infrastructure in order to provide seamless multimodal transport services and speed up the review of the Tripartite Agreement on water transport on Lake Victoria," read the statement in part.
The SGR indicated that the railway line will be beneficial to Kenya and the neighbouring countries owing to the projected interest among investors.
Additionally, the SGR is also aimed at reducing the time taken in the transportation of goods from the Port of Mombasa.
"As a country, we seek to leverage private sector partnerships in the extension of our SGR line in an effort to, not only ensure seamless cross-border movement of goods and people but also create special economic zones along the corridor that will transform areas with stop stations into economic hubs," the CS stated.
As per the signed agreement, the five countries will finalise the contracts by the end of this month.
Meanwhile, construction of the Naivasha-Kisumu line is expected to commence by the end of 2024.
