The African Development Bank Group will provide $301 million to overhaul the Kampala-Malaba Meter Gauge Railway (MGR) in Uganda.
Approved last week, the financing consists of loans and grants from the AfDB and its concessional lending window, the African Development Fund.
The railway line is part of the East African Community’s Northern Corridor. It links Ugandan capital Kampala to Kenyan coastal city Mombasa. The East African Community Railway Rehabilitation Support Project will strengthen rail services and lower transport costs in a region rich in agricultural land, manufacturing and minerals and petroleum production. The work will consist of the immediate rehabilitation of 265km of MGR railway tracks between Malaba and Mukono. This includes the line to Jinja Pier and Port Bell on Lake Victoria.
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The Kampala-Malaba MGR is part of the multi-modal Northern Corridor route. This route includes road transport from Mombasa in Kenya to landlocked Uganda and neighboring countries, including Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and Eastern DR Congo. The corridor also has maritime links with Lake Victoria’s inland waterways.
The project will incorporate training and skills development for railway workers. It will also integrate nature-based solutions such as tree planning, to enhance the climate resilience of the tracks.
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Improving Kampala-Malaba Meter Gauge Railway infrastructure makes economic sense
AfDB Group President Akinwumi Adesina said railway tracks would be instrument in linking rural-based Special Agricultural Processing Zones, which the AfDB is promoting to markets and other logistics hubs.
“Railway lines are critical to opening up the heartland of Africa, where there is immense agricultural and economic potential. Railway lines should not simply connect ports to mines,” said Adesina.
Adesina added that it is heartening to see African governments invest in rail transport, exemplified by Ugandan’s cabinet and parliament’s support of this project. Rail is viewed as safer and more affordable than transportation by road. But, at the moment more than 90% of the traffic along the Northern Corridor is by road. Only 7% of mass transition is along rail because of the poor infrastructure. This means transportation costs along the corridor are comparatively high.
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The Project is expected to directly benefit almost 1.2 million people. It is aligned with Uganda’s Vision 2040 National Strategy as well as the East African Community’s Vision 2050. This Vision is about deepening trade and transforming East African into a globally competitive upper-middle-income region.
The East African Community Railway Rehabilitation Support Project also advances the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and three of the African Development Bank’s High 5 operational priorities: Integrate Africa, Industrialise Africa and Improve the Quality of Life for the People of Africa.
