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South Sudan supports plan for East Africa railway

Wednesday March 26 2014
SGR

South Sudan is set to join East African countries in the development of a standard gauge railway (SGR) to cut transport costs and boost regional trade. Photo/FILE

South Sudan is set to join East African countries in the development of a standard gauge railway (SGR) to cut transport costs and boost regional trade.

Kenya reached a deal with Uganda and Rwanda to construct a railway that would link Mombasa port to Malaba on the border with Uganda. It will also be extended to Uganda and by 2018 to Rwanda.

South Sudan has agreed to join the three nations to extend the rail from Kampala to Juba.

“We do not want to be left out of this key infrastructural development and that is why we would like to be part of it,” said Leonard Nhial Bol of the Ministry of Transport, South Sudan, in a press statement released in Nairobi.

The Press statement followed a three-day meeting held last week in Nairobi which hosted Uganda and Rwanda officials.

A narrow-gauge track operated by the Rift Valley Railways runs to northern Uganda, near the border with South Sudan, where goods heading to Juba are offloaded and transported by road. 

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