kenniya.jpg (Photo : hdw.eweb4.com)
A publication in Kenya is deeming the Chinese-backed railroad project in the country a brewing scandal. Kenya's largest privately owned newspaper The Daily Standard has printed an article titled "Why the Planned Railroad Could Be the Largest Scandal in Kenyan History."
In 2012, the Chinese Road and Bridge Company's bid was accepted at 220 billion Kenyan Dollars but now the price has already gone up to 1.3 trillion Kenyan Dollars. The article also cites that another railroad network in nearby Ethiopia, which needs more technical expertise and is twice the length of the Kenyan network, cost 39,000,000,000 USD while the Kenyan network will cost nearly the same at 33,480,000,000 USD.
The article also quoted a Kenyan scholar who felt that "the purchasing relationship between the two countries is absolutely unconstitutional under Kenyan law." The scholar went on to say that the engineering procedures and costs were not clear and were not made public. The report also described the Chinese Road and Bridge Company's price as "a rip off."
In August, the Kenyan President visited China to meet with Chinese President Xi Jin Ping to sign an Eastern Asian-African railroad agreement. The countries hope that the railroad would help ease the congestion in Mombasa, Africa's busiest port city.
When completed in 2017, the Kenyan the railroad will reach Uganda with another branch to the Congo. Future plan is to extend the railroad south to Rwanda and Burundi and then north to Sudan. The passenger trains on these lines will travel up 120 km/h and freight trains will reach speeds of 80 km/h.
