The much-awaited construction of Uganda’s Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) is set to start after the government released money to the works and transport ministry with a notice for the Turkish contractor, Yapi Merkezi, to begin preliminary works.
The finance ministry says more money will be released as the construction of the 273-kilometre section from Malaba, on the Kenyan border, to Kampala progresses.
The Ugandan SGR will eventually connect to the Kenyan one, whose extension from Naivasha is also starting.
According to the finance ministry’s deputy permanent secretary, Patrick Ocailap, the contractor is expected to start work in earnest.
“We don’t want any delays now that we have released the money. This project is very important for the business community and economic development of the country,” said Ocailap.
The works and transport ministry permanent secretary, Waiswa Bageya, said the contractor will start with preliminary activities such as geophysical surveys, soil testing, water surveys, and design drawing, amongst others.
Bageya said the SGR is a strategic project that will enhance investments and the flow of goods along the Kampala-Mombasa Port route.
The SGR will reduce the cost of transporting a 20-foot container from Mombasa Port to Kampala by half; from 3,200 dollars (UGX11.6 million) to 1,600 dollars (UGX5.8 million). This will lower the cost of doing business in Uganda.
The Uganda SGR is a railway system that will link Uganda with East African Community partners Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and South Sudan.
The SGR project will be implemented in phases. After the Malaba-Kampala section, it will be extended to the borders of neighbouring countries, making a network of 1,724 kilometers.
The total cost of the project is three billion dollars.
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