Uganda and Kenya will on December 31, sign an agreement for the concession of the Mombasa Kampala railway line.
The railway deal will make trade between the two nations cheap and efficient, and by December 31, the Kenya and Uganda Railways will be handed over to Sheltam Consortium for operation a South African firm awarded the contract to operate the line.
The Kenyan High Commissioner to Uganda, Mr. Japheth Getuti, said his government has embarked on the rehabilitation of the Northern Corridor roads access to Uganda and modernising the port of Mombasa.
He said this would involve the introduction of berthing terbs, mobile weighbridges, six-day police escorts, and a one-stop document center at the Port.
A number of facilities will be introduced to enable the running of the railway, including seamless train service from Mombasa to Kampala, a joint cargo clearance office at Malaba border customs area by both Kenya and Uganda customs authorities, a cargo consolidated center (warehouse) for Uganda bound cargo at Mariakani along the Mombasa-Nairobi highway.
Uganda’s Minister of State for Regional Cooperation, Mr. Augustine Nshimye, urged the two nations to seriously consider working together to extend the railway from Pakwach to southern Sudan, so that the trade potential in that region is effectively exploited. With the population of 90 million people as well as a combined GDP of over $30 billion, East Africa if well integrated could enjoy the benefits of a bigger economy.
By Kisibo Jackie
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