Home East Africa Chinese to Charge Toll on Last Leg of Standard Gauge Railway in...

East Africa

Chinese to Charge Toll on Last Leg of Standard Gauge Railway in Kenya

April 1, 2025

(3 Minutes Read)

National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi said the government is in discussion with Chinese firms to extend the line from Naivasha to Uganda. However, he did not disclose the amount of time that the consortium of Chinese firms will take to recoup their investments. The last 40 percent of the SGR line will be built by a consortium of Chinese companies.

A consortium of Chinese firms will charge a toll on the last 40 percent of the third leg of the standard gauge railway (SGR) from Naivasha to Malaba in Kenya, the National Treasury said.

Mbadi told the committee, chaired by Alego Usonga MP Samuel Atandi, that funding for the Naivasha-Malaba stretch is being negotiated with Beijing firms. He said over 50 percent of the Mombasa-Naivasha SGR loan would be repaid by the year 2029. The minister said 30 percent of the new SGR loans would be sourced externally while another 30 percent or Sh45 billion annually would be provided for by the government.

The Kenya Railways Corporation last year recruited a consultant to undertake the mapping and propose a compensation and resettlement plan for all affected by the works on the 255-kilometre proposed project route that traverses Narok, Bomet, Kericho, and Kisumu.

The Treasury last year revealed that the commercial terms for the construction of the third leg of the SGR from Naivasha to Malaba had been agreed, setting the stage for the completion of Phase 2 B of the modern railway.

Phase 2 B will run from Naivasha to Malaba, while Phase 2 A runs from Nairobi to Naivasha. Phase 1 runs from Mombasa to Nairobi. A plan from the Kenya Railways Corporation shows that Phase 2 B of the SGR project will include the construction of the 255-kilometre line from Narok to Kisumu with modifications of the Kisumu port, including an eight-kilometre branch line.

The key components of the proposed project include rail, sleepers, tunnels, bridges, stations and locomotives. The proposed port will entail the construction of two multipurpose berths and a workboat berth so as to safely accommodate the safe laying of ships.

Both Kenya and Uganda have expressed interest in extending the SGR project to link the two nations and provide connections to South Sudan, Rwanda and the DR Congo. Phase 3 of the project involves the construction of the Naivasha to Kampala. Uganda to Kigali, Rwanda line for which feasibility and preliminary designs are also being undertaken, the Kenyan government said.

Kenya spent USD 3.6 billion to construct the SGR. One of the most expensive infrastructure projects as at the time it was launched in 2013. The prime contractor was the China Road & Bridge Corporation CRBC, which hired 25,000 Kenyans to work on the railway.