Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has launched the construction of a $2.84 billion Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) which will run from the eastern region border town of Malaba to Kampala.
While laying the foundation stone for the SGR Thursday, Museveni said the project would ease the cost of doing business while also reducing pressure on the country’s road network.
“The cost and wastage on roads is too much because the traffic is also too much. The roads are also getting damaged quickly,” Museveni said.
“Therefore where we are headed, cargo will be on the SGR and on water. The roads will only be for passengers,” the president added.
He explained that the time spent on transporting goods from Mombasa to Kampala would be reduced from 14 days using the meter gauge railway to 24 hours on the SGR.
Uganda and Turkish firm Yapi Merkezi in September signed an agreement for the construction of the first section (Malaba-Kampala) of the SGR, about 272km of the total 1,700km.
The other sections of the SGR will run to the Uganda-South Sudan and the Uganda-DR Congo/Rwanda borders.
Gen Katumba Wamala, the works and transport minister, said once completed, the SGR would reduce the cost of imported retail goods on shelves.
“The SGR will lower the cost of transportation per 20ft container from about $3,500 to around $1,700,” Wamala said, adding construction will last 48 months.
He said so far Kenya had made progress in extending their SGR line from Mombasa to Naivasha (central Kenya) and would soon be extended to the Kenya-Uganda border.
