A Chinese firm has secured contract to build the remaining link of the cross-Kenya railway which is seen to improve transportation connections in East Africa. (Photo : www.seat61.com)
A major Chinese company was awarded the bid to complete the remaining link of the railway running across Kenya, which is seen to boost connections in East Africa, China Daily reported.
Under the framework agreement signed with the Kenyan government, China Communications Construction Co. will build two more sections of the Mombasa-Malaba Standard Gauge Railway.
In September, the company won the $1.48 billion contract to extend the Mombasa-Nairobi line by 120 kilometers to Naivasha, a stop between Nairobi, the capital, and Malaba.
Earlier this month, the company signed a framework deal to build the remaining section linking Naivasha and Malaba.
The railway connecting Mombasa with Nairobi at a cost of $3.8 billion is now being built by China Road and Bridge Corp. (CRBC), a subsidiary of China Communications Construction Co. It is scheduled for completion in 2017.
According to the report, the construction of the 960-kilometer Mombasa-Malaba railway is expected to significantly boost economic growth, regional integration and industrialization.
The report said that the Chinese company secured the latest contract for the Nairobi-Malaba railway after President Xi Jinping pledged aid and loans worth $60 billion for Africa to help the continent address its top three problems: infrastructure, talent and funding.
Liu Qitao, chairman of China Communications Construction Co., said that the company secured contracts worth $5 billion and loans for projects that include railway and hydropower stations during the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit in Johannesburg last week. He said they are still seeking funds for contracts worth another $5 billion.
The company said that when completed, the Nairobi-Malaba railway will be linked to others in Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan, to form an East African network.
The Nairobi-Malaba section is expected to improve transportation in northern Kenya and reduce the cost of cross-border travel, the company said.
"The link will promote employment in Kenya and also regional economic development, making Kenya more influential politically and economically in East Africa," the company said in a statement. "It will also improve interaction and interworking in East Africa and speed up its integration process."
The construction of the Mombasa-Nairobi section will employ up to 30,000 local workers, while 5,000 Kenyan workers will be trained in railway-related skills, the report said.
CRBC will supply materials, machinery and services needed for the project, the report added. Chinese equipment and technical standards will also be used in the railway.
"The project will further promote industrial cooperation between China and Kenya," the company said.
