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East Africa's joint mega railway project at the crossroads

Ongoing works at the Standard gauge Railway (SGR) Project, Phase 2A of Nairobi to Naivasha at the Inland Container Deport (ICD) on June 23, 2018. Its construction is funded by China. FILE PHOTO | NMG

By  James Anyanzwa

Business Reporter in Nairobi, Kenya

Nation Media Group

East Africa's ambitious standard gauge railway line linking the port of Mombasa to the landlocked countries in the region has fallen behind schedule largely due to financing constraints, doubts over its economic viability, the cost of construction and indecisiveness on the part of some partner states to build their respective sections.

The planned 1,500km-long railway from Mombasa to Kigali was expected to be completed by 2018, but only Kenya has completed the initial phase of the project from Mombasa to Nairobi.

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