Under the scorching sun of Kisumu, Kenyan President Ruto and Ugandan President Museveni stood side by side, pressing the start button together. At that moment, another railway artery on the land of East Africa officially began construction. A nearly 1000 kilometer standard gauge railway is extending westward from Mombasa to Malaba, connecting the waves of the Indian Ocean with the blue waves of Lake Victoria. On July 1, 2026, the Naivasha Kisumu Malaba standard gauge railway extension project entered the civil construction phase in Narok County. This East African transportation artery with a total investment of 5.4 billion US dollars was constructed by China Communications Construction Corporation and its subsidiary China Road and Bridge Corporation.

475 kilometers of railway laid towards the border

The project departs from Naivasha, passes through areas such as Narok, Bomet, Kerijo, Nyamira, Kisumu, and finally arrives at the border city of Malaba between Kenya and Uganda, with a total length of about 475 kilometers, and is implemented in two stages. The 2B phase from Naivasha to Kisumu has a total length of approximately 264 kilometers, with 6 intermediate stations and 17 crossings along the line. It also includes an 8.69 kilometer branch line leading directly to the proposed Kisumu New Port, which is the key section of the construction project. The 2C phase from Kisumu to Malaba has a total length of about 107 kilometers and was jointly laid by the presidents of the two countries in March 2026. After completion, it will be interconnected with Uganda's planned Malaba to Kampala standard gauge railway. The entire line will also construct 79 railway bridges, 8 tunnels, and 376 culverts, with the goal of completion by mid-2027.

Innovation in Financing Models

Unlike the Mombasa Nairobi Railway, which mainly relies on loans from the Export Import Bank of China, this western extension project adopts a more flexible financing structure. Kenya has amended the law to use the approximately 36.8 billion shilling railway development fund as collateral for financing, effectively leveraging about 4 billion US dollars in market funds. The contractor China Road and Bridge Corporation plans to invest approximately $500 million in its own funds to form a new type of cooperative relationship, transforming from a creditor to a partner. The Kenyan government had previously renegotiated SGR loans with China, converting US dollar debt into RMB debt and extending the repayment period to 2040, further easing debt pressure. Keywords:Engineering Construction、Engineering Information

Connecting the East African Corridor

After the completion of the project, it will achieve the full standard track connection from Mombasa Port to the Uganda border, forming a seamless railway connection of nearly 1000 kilometers. It is expected to reduce freight costs by about 50% and shorten transportation time by nearly 30%. Kenyan President Ruto referred to it as the country's most far-reaching development project. This railway will strengthen the transportation connection between Mombasa Port and the Uganda border, consolidating Kenya's position as a regional logistics hub. In addition to the main contractors China Communications Construction and China Road and Bridge Corporation, a large amount of demand is being released in the supply of civil construction materials, leasing of engineering machinery, communication signal systems, logistics supporting services, and other links. At the same time, a construction plan of about 3 billion US dollars for the 107 kilometer section in Uganda has also been launched, forming a market window for cross-border linkage.Editor/Gao Xue