The government will construct a port in Kisumu to serve Uganda and Tanzania as part of the second phase of the standard gauge railway, Kenya Railways has said.
The port will open up the region and ease doing business in the East and Central Africa region further, said managing director Atanas Maina during the East Africa Rail Conference 2017.
“Availability of an efficient transport system can be a boost or a barrier to economic growth within individual nations,” said Brand Kenya Board head of branding Mwihaki Wachira in a presentation on innovative financing of railway projects in Africa.
Kenya is spearheading the development of the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) corridor project with development of rail infrastructure being key to making doing business in the region easier.
Kenya ranks third in sub-Saharan Africa in ease of doing business, according to the 2017 World Bank Ease of doing Business Index, moving up 12 places. This is thanks to good legislation and more opening up the country for trade.
Kenya has plans to extend the SGR to Kampala and Kigali, which will translate into more trade links, with estimates that freight trains are able to carry 25 million tonnes per year.
Some of the delegates who spoke at the conference included representatives from Rail Working Group, Switzerland, Egyptian National Railways, Uganda Railways Corporation, Ethiopian Railways Corporation, Rwanda Transport Development Agency, Industrial Infrastructure, IDC, South Africa, Comesa and ACTESA, Tazara, Tanzania, among others.