Plans to construct a railway line linking Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to Nairobi’s city centre are back on track after Kenya secured Sh14 billion loan from the French government. Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia told the Business Daily in an interview Friday that a commercial agreement to construct the five-kilometre line have been closed, setting the stage for start of construction from March.
The loan will also aid the revamp the old 17-kilometre railway track that links to the standard gauge railway (SGR) line at Syokimau from where the new line will be built to the airport. Turf wars and tendering fights had derailed construction of the JKIA railway line in what threatened the deal inked by French President Emanuel Macron and his Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta.
The Treasury had raised the red flag over the secret procurement of a consortium of French firms to build the new railway line and declined to commit funds following a request from the Ministry of Transport. The Transport ministry informed the Treasury that a consortium of five French companies led by Egis Group had been tapped for the railway project on the back of a financing deal agreed with Paris and commercial lender BPI France Assurance Export. Mr Macharia said that a contractor for the airport line would be tapped ahead of March, with construction expected to be completed in under two years.
“The French government has committed to finance the construction of a new rail link passing over Mombasa Road from Syokimau standard gauge rail terminus into JKIA to the tune of Sh14 billion,” said Mr Macharia. “The cost will also include upgrading the existing meter gauge line from the Nairobi Central Station to Syokimau train terminus.”
This suggests that the State has dropped the bid to have the JKIA rail built using private backers who were to recover their money from toll charges and instead opted for a French loan. The JKIA-Nairobi city centre railway line was planned to decongest the capital city and reduce the time taken between the central business district and the region’s largest international airport—which handled 11.7 million domestic and international fliers last year.
The distance between JKIA and Nairobi city centre is 20km, and travel should take between 30 minutes to less than an hour. However, it takes up to two hours due to traffic on the usually busy Mombasa Road.
The turf wars also hinged on revelations that the Cabinet had yet to approve the JKIA rail project despite the deal being part of a multibillion-shilling trade agreement that Mr Macron signed with Mr Kenyatta during his March 13 Kenya visit. The public private partnership (PPP) deal fronted by French firm, Egis, was also faulted for not having complied with the law.
The consortium of French companies included Egis, Sogea-Satom, Alstom, Thales and Transdev—who are major players in the rail transport business. Construction of the rail link to JKIA was expected to be completed in 2021 and Mr Macron viewed it as one of the key projects to cement bilateral ties between Nairobi and Paris, promising to provide sustainable financing in what was seen as a dig at China.
China has provided nearly Sh500 billion in loans for construction of the SGR line from Mombasa to Nairobi, but some critics have expressed concerns over the country’s growing debt burden and Chinese loans. China had earlier expressed interest in expanding the SGR line to JKIA and the city centre via Syokimau. But the plan was termed costly and shelved.
Sources familiar with the rail deal see the hand of the Chinese in attempts to block it.
SUSTAINABLE FINANCING
Mr Macron’s joint press briefing with Mr Kenyatta was symbolic given its venue at the CBD railway terminus where the French leader repeatedly mentioned ‘sustainable financing’ and ‘respect for sovereignty’ in what was his way of saying that Paris funding was better than Chinese. Mr Macron’s push for partnership saw various French firms sign deals worth over Sh300 billion during his two-day visit.
The French-Chinese rivalry over the railway deal played out immediately Mr Macron left Kenya. The Chinese Embassy in Nairobi organised a tour of the SGR project the following week, inviting Kenyan officials, MPs, journalists and scholars.
Source: Business Daily Africa