Uganda, Turkey’s Yapi Merkezi ink deal build standard gauge railway

Uganda and Turkey’s Yapi Merkezi signed a contract on Monday to build 272 kilometres standard gauge railway (SGR).

The agreement was signed by Uganda’s Works Permanent Secretary, Bageya Waiswa, and Yapi Merkezi’s vice chairman, Erdem Arioglu.

The railway will stretch from Malaba on the Kenyan border to the capital Kampala.

Read: Uganda selects Turkish firm for Malaba-Kampala SGR

The Chinese had promised to invest about $2.2 billion, but Kampala terminated the contract early last year after eight years of non-delivery.

In 2013, the leaders of Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, South Sudan and Rwanda broke ground on the construction of the SGR to connect the member states and boost trade in the region, which is home to more than 300 million people.

So far, only Kenya and Tanzania have made significant progress with the construction lines in their respective countries.

- Additional reporting by The EastAfrican