The Standard Gauge Railway running from Mombasa to Nairobi is expected to bring great economic growth not only for Kenya but across the entire East African region. This is according to Dr Geoffrey Mwau, National Treasury Economic Secretary. Mr Mwau said that the SGR will help to transport containers from the Mombasa port to Nairobi in time, therefore easing up business trips.
The mega project projected by Kenya and China government costs over 300 billion shillings and it intends to woo more business investors to the country as well as promote local business.
Speaking during the launch, Dr Geoffrey Mwau from the Treasury said that the SGR is going to tremendously reduce the cost of carrying out business by quickening delivery of containers from Mombasa to Kisumu and from Kenya to Uganda. “We are very impressed with the right implementation of this project and this is a good example of how projects should be implemented,” said Dr Mwau.
Charges for containerized cargo from the Port of Mombasa to the Inland Container Depot in Nairobi have been set at $500 (Sh51, 675). Other freight will cost Sh32, 800 to transport.
This will result in a 40 percent decline in the cost of cargo transport in comparison to the $800 (Sh80, 000) to $900 (Sh 90,000) cost of transporting goods by road between Mombasa and Nairobi.
The project has been built with a loan from a Chinese bank and the SGR is the biggest infrastructure in the country since independence.
The Standard Gauge Railway will as well reduce transport costs in volume as compared to road transport. The SGR is also expected to shorten the distance from Nairobi to Mombasa.