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The launch of the Kenya-China standard-gauge railway project is the result of a collaboration between the two countries to implement some vital projects in Kenya with Chinese help
Kenya and China have a rare bond in facilitating technical training in the former in the technical institutions and universities in the latter. It is paying off. Now thousands of Kenyans are getting educated in China, some with scholarships. That has made some enterprises and utilities in Kenya prosper as they use the technical expertise gained by the Kenyans who got educated in Chinese institutions. Railways is one among them.
The launch of the Kenya-China standard-gauge railway project is the result of a collaboration between the two countries to implement some vital projects in Kenya with Chinese help. Drawn from the experience gained by a good number of Kenyans who studied in China and with the help of the Chinese government, the train linking the capital city Nairobi and the major port city Mombasa (SGR) opened to traffic in 2017. In the financial year to June 2023, it contributed to about 2 % of the country’s GDP.
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The Standard Gauge Railway cost USD 4.7 billion borrowed from Chinese banks. The government has struggled with low uptake of its cargo services. Last May, Kenya secured a commitment from China’s Exim Bank for the funding of the standard gauge railway line from Naivasha, northwest of Nairobi, to the Uganda border.
