President William Ruto and his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni this week launched the Naivasha-Malaba-Kampala standard gauge railway (SGR), a cross-border track that is expected to be a major trade artery for East Africa and the Great Lakes region. Dr Ruto on Thursday broke ground on the 264-kilometre line from Naivasha to Malaba, pledging that the $5 billion project would boost trade and regional integration, even as questions linger over its financing.President Museveni was expected to attend the Saturday ground-breaking for the Kisumu-Malaba stretch of the cross-border project that is expected to go all the way to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the fullness of time. The SGR extension is part of the East African Railway Master Plan, which aims to replace existing meter-gauge railways in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, with farther extensions planned for Rwanda and the DRC. The project is expected to breathe life into the economy of the regions it will pass through.President Ruto termed the SGR a game-changer that would unlock Kenya’s potential as a commercial hub in East Africa, and boost the economic fortunes of communities it would pass through. The extension of the SGR, which, when complete will provide seamless logistical system from the port of Mombasa to the Ugandan capital, is expected to increase freight volumes and cut transport costs. China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), the contractor who built the Nairobi – Naivasha stretch, will also work on the stretch to Malaba.A recent study by the East African Business Council found that transporters pay $1.8 per kilometre on every container of cargo on the Northern Corridor, nearly twice the international average. The countries also spend about $2,160 per kilometre on road repairs every year, higher than the average estimate. Uganda is working on an electric SGR line between Kampala and Malaba and it is later expected to go to the border with Rwanda. DRC has also committed to develop an SGR line, which would see a seamless rail transport from Mombasa to the hinterland, as part of a regional plan to enhance trade and movement of people.The SGR will complement road, ports and lake transport on the 1,700km Northern Corridor that runs from Kenya through Uganda to Rwanda, Burundi and eastern DRC. Nairobi and Kampala have had to move with speed, especially after Tanzania started to upgrade its Central Corridor by building an SGR line to complement the road running some 1,300 kilometres from Dar es Salaam to Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and eastern DRC. According to data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, cargo remains the dominant revenue earner for the existing SGR line from Mombasa to Naivasha, with freight volumes rising 14.6 percent to 7.5 million tonnes in 2025 from 6.5 million tonnes in 2024 The volume of cargo transported on the Northern Corridor recorded a strong growth in 2025 increasing by 18.9 percent to 4.13 million tonnes, from 3.47 million tonnes in 2024, with Uganda remaining the leading transit destination, rising by 16.9 percent to 2.85 million tonnes and accounting for 69 percent of the total transit throughput, according to the Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Coordination Authority (NCTTCA).Uganda was followed by the DRC (11 percent) and South Sudan (9.4 percent), with all Northern Corridor member states posting notable increases, compared to the year 2024. Imports continued to dominate transit traffic, representing 92.6 percent of the total, while exports accounted for 7.4 percent. The total cargo throughput at the Port of Mombasa during the July-September 2025 quarter increased by 11.91 percent to 11.51 million tonnes from 10.29 million tonnes recorded in 2024, primarily driven by the strong performance in dry bulk cargo, which surged by 43.23 percent to 2.18 million tonnes, and conventional cargo, which rose by 35.78 percent to 766,740 tonnes.According to President Ruto, SGR freight operations generate more than Ksh1.3 billion ($10 million) every month, whereas passenger revenue has grown by about 40 percent, surpassing Ksh4 billion ($30 million) annually. “In December 2025 alone, passenger revenue reached Ksh602 million ($4.65 million). These numbers are clear evidence of a modern railway that is working and delivering for our economy,” he said.  (ICE NAIROBI)

Fonte notizia: Business Daily