Kenya government has scheduled to sign the US $3.8 bn contract for the second phase construction of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) this September. This is according to James Macharia, Transport and Infrastructure Cabinet Secretary, who said the deal will be concluded during this year’s Forum on China-Africa Corporation (FOCAC) that will be held from September 1-5 in China.
“We shall be travelling to China on the first week of September for the FOCAC summit and we shall sign the US $3.8 bn contract for the second phase of the SGR from Naivasha to Kisumu,” said James Macharia.
SGR phase II funding
The CS describes the the phase II project as a great opportunity for investors to build industries and houses along the corridor, beginning from Mombasa to Kisumu. He added that the signing of the deal will put the cost of the complete project at US $8bn. However it not yet known who the financier of the phase II of the SGR project is.
According to CS Macharia, the Mombasa-Nairobi phase will cost US $3.3bn, the extension to Naivasha to cost US $1.5bn and the final phase will cost US $3.8bn. Phase 2B of the project will start at the planned Naivasha Industrial Park where Phase 2A ends.
Inland Port
Meanwhile, the government is also planning to put up a modern inland port that will pass through Narok, Bomet, Kericho counties and terminate in Kisumu. Additionally, the railway line will have 25 stations, a county station in Kisumu, six intermediate stations and 18 crossing stations.
According to the project contractor, China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), the laying of tracks and rail sleepers is being carried out from Narok towards Nairobi. The 120 km Nairobi-Naivasha line is the first of the three segments that make up Phase II of the SGR project that ends in Malaba town located at the Kenya-Uganda border.
Stations construction
“construction of the stations has been ongoing in Ongata Rongai, Ngong and Suswa towns. We are on course to complete the 4.5 km Ngong tunnel in August, the first and longest railway tunnel in the country,” said Steve Zhao, the CCCC Kenya SGR project spokesman.
6% of the railway line will consist of three tunnels measuring 7.147 km and it will have 27 bridges measuring 17.3 km, accounting for 14.4% of the total project length.
