KISUMU, Kenya — Presidents Yoweri Museveni and William Ruto are scheduled to meet March 20 to officially kick off construction of an $8.5 billion Standard Gauge Railway extension, a joint venture designed to link the Port of Mombasa to the East African interior.
The high-profile ceremony in Kisumu marks the start of a multi-billion-dollar infrastructure project that will connect Kenya’s existing Nairobi-Naivasha SGR line to Malaba on the Ugandan border, eventually extending to Kampala.
The project is expected to cost a combined $8.5 billion, with the Kenyan section estimated at $5.5 billion and the Ugandan side at $3 billion. Uganda has already secured initial funding and contracted Turkish firm Yapi Merkezi to begin geotechnical surveys and mapping on the 273-kilometer line from Malaba to the capital.
Government officials say the modern railway is a strategic move to end long-standing infrastructure limitations that have hindered Uganda’s access to the sea. Once operational, the SGR is projected to handle up to 30 million tonnes of cargo annually.
A statement from the Kenyan government noted the rail link will reduce travel time between Kampala and Nairobi from 14 hours to approximately four hours. Furthermore, freight transport costs are expected to drop by nearly 35 percent, significantly increasing the competitiveness of Ugandan products.
The project follows a bilateral agreement signed in March 2025, where both nations committed to harmonizing technical standards to ensure seamless connectivity.
“In early 2026, we will be launching the extension of the SGR from Naivasha to Kampala to connect with the Malaba-Kampala line and later to the DR Congo,” Ruto said during a recent visit to Tororo. He emphasized that the venture is part of a broader effort to deepen East African Community integration.
In Uganda, the SGR is expected to offer relief to the national budget by saving billions in road maintenance costs as bulk cargo shifts to rail. Waiswa Bageya, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Works and Transport, noted that the project will also provide a safer alternative to road transport, which currently claims more than 4,000 lives annually in Uganda.
Construction for the Malaba-Kampala section is already mobilizing. David Mugabe, the SGR project’s senior public relations officer, said compensation for affected residents has been completed in nine districts.
The long-term vision for the 1,724-kilometer Ugandan network includes further extensions toward South Sudan, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
