the WSJ reports,"China has agreed to fund the first phase of a standard gauge railway line linking the Kenyan port city of Mombasa to Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda and South Sudan.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and three East African presidents witnessed, in Nairobi, the signing of the financing agreement of the project’s first phase, the Kenyan President office said.
China Exim Bank will fund 90% of the $3.6 billion first phase of the project that will cover 609.3 kilometers from the port of Mombasa to Nairobi.
The Kenyan government will provide the remainder of the funding, the Kenyan president office said in a news release".
"Construction of the first phase is estimated to take 42 months to complete and will commence on October 1, the statement said. The contractor will be China Road and Bridge Corp.
The standard gauge railway is is intended to provide efficient and cost-effective rail transport for both freight and passengers. Passenger trains will have a speed of 120 kilometers per hour while those for freight will be designed to move at 80 km an hour.
Kenya, East Africa largest economy, has a single-track railway built when Kenya was a British colony in the 19th century. Currently, goods transported over the railway include coffee from Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi and black tea for export through the port of Mombasa".
