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Uganda is in talks with a Turkish firm, Yapi Merkezi, to help secure financing for a US$2.2 billion rail link connecting Uganda to the Kenyan port of Mombasa. Potential sources of funding primarily being looked into are export credit agencies. 

Yapi Merkezi confirmed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) previously signed with the Government of Uganda to construct a 273-km railway project linking Kampala to the Kenyan rail system, which will provide access to the Indian Ocean seaport. 

“We want Yapi to carry the burden of helping the government to procure financing from lenders. We want the agreement we sign with them to include that component in addition to engineering and construction. We want them to approach export credit agencies, some of which have already shown interest,” said Perez Wamburu, head of the standard gauge railway (SGR) project in the Ministry of Works and Transport.  

The contract for the project was initially signed with China Harbour and Engineering Company Ltd (CHEC) in 2015. But the company needed to provide the finance, which didn't materialise resulting in the termination of the contract. 

“We read between the lines when China’s Ambassador to Uganda said that after the Covid-19 pandemic, China has become more cautious about financing big infrastructure projects in Africa. We all know that Covid didn’t leave economies of the world the same,” said Wamburu. 

Subsequently, Uganda held talks with Yapi Merkezi in December 2022 and gave the company tender papers. The government hopes project construction will begin within seven months.  

Turkey is playing a pivotal role in various construction projects in Uganda. Many Turkish contractors are implementing multiple projects in public and private high-tech infrastructure. For instance, Polat Yol Yapi secured a project to upgrade the two-kilometre Muyembe-Nakapiripirit road, connecting Uganda to Kenya, South Sudan, and Ethiopia. 

The construction of Muyembe—Nakapiripirit road [92Km] is expected to increase Uganda's attractiveness as a preferred tourist destination.

It crosses Pian Upe Wildlife Reserve; only best place to see Uganda's rarest animal & the world's fastest mammal—the Cheetah🐆.#ConnectUg pic.twitter.com/Ne6WrywnSW

— UNRA_UGANDA (@UNRA_UG) August 17, 2021

Yapi Markezi is also executing the Morogoro-Makutupora section of the SGR Railway project in Tanzania, now in its second phase. On completion, it will be East Africa’s fastest railway line. It will connect Dar-es-Salaam to Mwanza, known as the Central Corridor, which connects Uganda, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Tanzania. The project will provide Indian Ocean access to all stakeholder countries.

The rail project will help landlocked Uganda provide faster transportation and lower the cost of transportation of the country’s exports. Current modes of transport include the slow and expensive road networks and the old narrow-gauge railway line.

The rail project will help landlocked Uganda provide faster transportation and lower the cost of transportation of the country’s exports. Current modes of transport include the slow and expensive road networks and the old narrow-gauge railway line.

Top Photo: Rail Construction - Stock Image (David734244 | Dreamstime)