Cabinet approves SGR extension to Malaba, construction of new roads

The cabinet on Wednesday approved the extension of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) to Malaba.

A statement from State House in Nairobi said the third Cabinet meeting for this year decided to extend the railway to the border town.

“Cabinet approved the development of the Naivasha-Kisumu/Malaba SGR project, which is Phase II of the Mombasa-Kisumu/Malaba SGR; the Project will be financed on a Government-to-Government (G-to-G) arrangement in which Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC), and China Communications Construction (CCCC) will sign the commercial contract,” State House said.

The meeting chaired by President Uhuru Kenyatta also decided to have the Embakasi Inland Container depot expanded to accommodate expected cargo once the SGR line from Mombasa is completed.

The second phase of the railway construction targets business towns of Naivasha, Kisumu and Malaba.

In Kisumu, the port there is to be renovated by a Chinese firm while Malaba is a major cross-point for goods between Kenya and Uganda.

Once completed, the SGR will be more than 900km between Mombasa and Malaba and is expected to ease movement of goods as well as reduce congestion on main highways.

The government, in addition, agreed to have more access roads developed.

“Also approved is the expansion and modernisation of the Embakasi Inland Container Depot (ICD) and the development of access roads, which will be fast tracked as part of the Mombasa-Nairobi SGR Project,” said the statement.

Currently, there exists an old railway network between Naivasha, Eldoret and Webuye. The cabinet announced this section will be renovated to improve connectivity to the SGR.

The government has previously announced construction of 10,000km of roads through an annuity programme in five years. The first phase of 453km was launched last year although it was faced with payment complaints from contractors.

On Wednesday, the cabinet approved Phase 1 to develop 435 km in various parts of the country to be financed through a Public-Private Partnership basis. The government argues this arrangement will reduce financing challenges by contractors.

But with such projects so clouded with tendering scandals, the government also approved the Bribery Bill, 2016 which criminalises both offering and receiving of bribes by any person, including local or foreign entities. It also makes specific and to make specific requirements for private corporates to establish procedures of preventing bribery.