Kenya and Uganda signed agreements that will see to it the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) extended to Kampala.
Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen on Friday, July 28, announced that Kenya and Uganda have signed an agreement to extend the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) to the neighboring country.
The CS said the SGR, which currently connects Mombasa to Nairobi and onwards to Naivasha, will be extended to Malaba first through the joint agreement after which the government of Uganda will stretch it to Kampala.
Uganda Minister of Works and Transport Edward Katumba Wamala and his Kenya Roads and Transport counterpart Kipchumba Murkomen signed a bilateral agreement reaffirming their commitment to the development of the project.
According to the two governments, the development of SGR would result in efficiency and reduction of transportation costs for the benefit of the people in the region.
The railway will facilitate the transportation of fuel, currently carried out by trucks along the Mombasa-Nairobi-Kisumu Highway.
“The signing of this communique, saw the two countries commit to undertaking the SGR extension project as a regional project under the Northern Corridor Integration Projects Initiative.
“Uganda has committed to ensuring that SGR is extended to the border with Rwanda, South Sudan, and DRC Congo as soon as possible to further improve the viability and attractiveness of the financing of the SGR along the Northern Corridor,” read the statement in part.
Both Uganda and Kenya will seek financing for the multi-billion-dollar project.
