By David Rupiny
The Ugandan government and Turkish construction company Yapi Merkezi signed a three-billion-dollar contract on October 14, 2024, to build the first phase of the country’s 1,700-kilometre Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) line.
The 272-kilometre first phase of the Ugandan SGR runs from Malaba on the Kenyan border to the capital Kampala. The construction work is expected to start in early November and be completed in four years.
The Turkish firm, Yapi Merkezi, is undertaking a similar SGR project in neighbouring Tanzania where the first phase from the commercial capital Dar es Salaam to the political capital Dodoma is now operational.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Works and Transport, Bageya Waiswa, signed on behalf of the Ugandan government, while Dr Erden Ariojlu, the Vice Chairman of Yapi Merkezi signed for it.
Speaking at the contract signing ceremony, Uganda’s Minister of Works and Transport, Katumba Wamala, said the SGR will become the backbone of the country’s surface transport system and will provide the much-needed transport capacity in the country and the region.
Minister Wamala said for Uganda and the East African region to make the most of the SGR, there is a need for a faster connection with the Kenyan SGR which currently stops in Naivasha, but with plans to extend it to Malaba.
The Works Permanent Secretary, Bageya Waiswa, said the Malaba-Kampala SGR is a critical component of the East African Community Railway Master Plan that will help to actualize the Northern Corridor Integrated Projects Railway Network which will connect Uganda and the Kenyan port of Mombasa through Nairobi.
The Malaba-Kampala SGR will also have a critical spur to the Kampala Industrial and Business Park. The SGR network will be critical for boosting Uganda’s investment train and inter-regional trade.
According to the Project Coordinator, Perez Wamburu, the other SGR lines include the Northern Line from Tororo to the South Sudan border via Gulu, Pakwach, and Vurra.
The others are the Western Line from Kampala to Mpondwe on the DR Congo border and the Southern Line up to the Rwandan border with a spur to Muko iron mines in southwestern Uganda.
Wamburu said: “Once the SGR is constructed, we envisage the project will have multiplier benefits to the country and the region like improved connectivity, investment, exports, trade and economic growth. Other benefits include increased trade, reduced transportation costs, job creation, improved safety, reduced transport and transit times, enhanced quality of life of communities, and reduced carbon emissions and pollution”.
Minister Wamala tasked the contractor to build the SGR line to the highest standards within time and cost, adhere to environmental and social requirements, work collaboratively with the SGR project management team and other stakeholders, and adhere to local content requirements, amongst others.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development, Ramadhan Ggobbi, said the SGR would transform the Ugandan route from the second most expensive route in the world to a highly competitive trade route in the region and will cut cargo export costs by half.
The Turkish Ambassador to Uganda, Mehmet Fatin Ak, described the contract signing as a milestone for cities and towns on the SGR route and a momentous step forward for Uganda. He said throughout history, infrastructure has been the bedrock on which economies flourished.
Ambassador Ak said: “Uganda is landlocked, it depends heavily on road transport for trade which is costly and slow. The SGR network and its linkage to ports in the region would dramatically reduce transport costs, boost investments, open up markets, and make Uganda’s exports competitive on the global stage”.
Dr Erden Ariojlu, the Vice Chairman of Yapi Merkezi, said the SGR project is one of the biggest they are handling, adding that “it will improve supply chains and help Uganda to become more competitive on the global market”.
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