This archive report was first published on 18 December 2019.
The dream of a grand Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) running from the port of Mombasa to Kisumu and further into Uganda has hit a snag. The government has instead decided to renovate the old metre-gauge railway from Naivasha onwards, which will connect with the SGR at Suswa.
President Uhuru Kenyatta announced the plan during the launch of the SGR freight service to Suswa from Syokimau. The President made no mention of extending the SGR to Kisumu, a move that suggests the government has abandoned the plan.
The Kenya Railways Corporation had already undertaken a study on the route that the phase 2B of SGR would take. From Suswa, the railway would pass through Narok, Bomet, Kericho counties and terminate in Kisumu. The project was estimated to cost Sh350 billion, which would have pushed the total cost of the project from Mombasa to Kisumu to over Sh800 billion.
China and Kenya were ready to start negotiations for financing the last phase but never kicked off, with China insisting that Kenya needed to undertake a feasibility study on the entire railway line to establish its viability. Kenya on the other hand was reportedly pushing for friendlier loans and grants.
The government has opted to upgrade the metre gauge railway between Naivasha and Kisumu and Malaba and link it with the SGR. The ministry said it will cost Sh21 billion, of which Sh15 billion will refurbish the old track while connecting the SGR and the old tracks in Naivasha, a 43-kilometre stretch, is estimated to cost Sh6 billion.
