Rwanda is seeking Rwf1.2 billion to finance the standard gauge railway project after MPs ratified the Nairobi Protocol to construct the Northern Corridor railway line.

According to the SGR project protocol, all parties should ensure sufficient budgetary allocations and funding mechanisms, including establishment of a railway development fund.

The government is contemplating establishment of infrastructure development fund to finance the project, which is expected to start in 2018.

While Kenya has already started construction, Rwanda and Uganda are yet to pass laws on the project.

Transport State Minister Dr Alexis Nzahabwanimana told Rwanda Today the government will raise money after the establishment of the fund and that the procurement process to pick the firm that will implement the project is under way.

“The fund will cater for many big infrastructure projects, among them the railway,” said Dr Nzahabwanimana.

“What we do when looking for a huge sum of money is, we use such big projects as a guarantee to lenders,” he added.

The fund, which will be operational later this year, is awaiting for enactment of law. A Bill to that effect is in the drafting stage and will be tabled before the two chambers of Parliament mid this year.

According to Theobald Mporanyi, the government should be keen on handling its assignment in a bid to harmonise its plans with Ugandan contractors since Rwanda will cover a portion of the cost of the Uganda section of the railway.

“Financial implications need to be seriously considered to avoid disorganisation since Rwanda will be constructing sections that are outside its borders,” Mr Mporanyi said.

Another MP, Ignatienne Nyirarukundo, said “We are also advising the government to be mindful of expropriation exercises to avoid mistakes made earlier in other big projects such as Bugesera Airport and Gahanga National Stadium.”

READ: Pay hitches threaten new airport

However, the government is yet to indicate, though a feasibility study already commissioned, whether the railway will pass through Kagitumba border to Nyabugogo or Masaka in Kicukiro District.

“The feasibility study is almost finished and we expect to have indicated by March which areas the railway will be connecting, but we need to ensure that we are on schedule,” Mr Nzahabwanimana added.

The SGR line is one of the Northern Corridor integration projects undertaken by Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda and Kenya. The Mombasa to Kigali railway will cover at least 3,000 kilometres.