Infrastructure

Work on Naivasha-Kisumu SGR Gears Up for 2024 Kickoff

Government targets 35% SGR Phase 2B completion by December.

Updated on

February 8, 2024

Works for the Nairobi-Naivasha SGR — Past work for the Nairobi-Naivasha standard gauge railway. PHOTO | COURTESY

Construction of the Naivasha-Kisumu Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) is set to commence soon as the Kenyan government seeks to advance regional connectivity.

According to Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, work to extend SGR from Naivasha resumes this year, with a target of 35% completion by December.

“Our commitment is to construct 35% of Standard Gauge Railway Phase 2B, Naivasha-Kisumu, by the end of 2024,” Murkomen said on a recent Kisumu tour.

This signifies a breakthrough for a project initially planned to stretch from Mombasa to Kisumu but stalled in Naivasha due to financial challenges.

The announcement came six months after Kenya and Uganda signed a deal to jointly seek Sh850 billion from European and Gulf lenders to fund the Naivasha-Kampala SGR construction, which was expected to start last month.

According to media reports, the UAE was considered a suitable candidate since it had offered to upgrade the port of Mombasa, which serves as the main gateway for cargo destined for the Great Lakes region.

The UAE was reportedly dangling an offer to build the railway to Malaba as long as it is also allowed a significant stake in the port of Mombasa.

On the Ugandan side, UK Export Finance (UKEF) was expected to provide most of the funding for the Kampala-Malaba line.

Chinese, European, and Middle Eastern lenders were also reportedly interested in providing funds to extend the Ugandan SGR to Mpondwe at the border with the DRC, Mirama Hills to connect with Rwanda, and Elegu to South Sudan.

The fundraising deal signed in Mombasa on July 28 by Kenyan Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen and his Ugandan counterpart Katumba Wamala seeks to achieve seamless railway transport from Mombasa to Kampala.

Under the deal, Kenya will extend the SGR from Naivasha to Malaba – a distance of 368 km, while Uganda will build a 272 km railway from Malaba to Kampala.

“It is of great benefit for both countries if we extend the SGR to Kampala. We are working as a team to ensure that goods are not stuck at the Malaba border,” Murkomen said.

Murkomen had earlier said the government viewed the extension of the SGR to Malaba as the best way to ensure the viability of the railway that runs from Mombasa to Naivasha.

“This project will only make sense when it goes past Naivasha as compared to the current situation where we are forced to transport goods by the lake instead of having them through the Kisumu port,” Murkomen said in an interview.

Phase 1 of the SGR, connecting Mombasa to Nairobi, was completed in 2017 for Sh327 billion, while Phase 2A, from Nairobi to Naivasha, ended in 2019, costing Sh150 billion.

Shortly before the completion of the Nairobi-Naivasha line, the government activated plans to extend the railway to Malaba on the Kenya-Uganda border.