infrastructure 23 March 2026 Daily Monitor (Uganda)
Ruto: SGR Groundbreaking in Kisumu Advances East African Integration Dreams
Kenyan President William Ruto hailed the groundbreaking of the 107km Kisumu-Malaba Standard Gauge Railway section as a pivotal step toward regional connectivity. He emphasized its role in slashing logistics costs, boosting trade, and fulfilling long-standing aspirations for East African unity. Source: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/-sgr-will-bring-life-to-our-aspiration-for-true-regional-integration-says-ruto-5399888
Kenyan President William Ruto addressed dignitaries, including Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, at the groundbreaking ceremony for the 107km Kisumu-Malaba section of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in Kisumu. This development completes a nearly 1,000km seamless rail link from Mombasa to Malaba, paving the way for extension to Kampala.
Ruto reflected on the 130-year-old metre gauge railway, originally built by British colonial authorities to connect Mombasa to Uganda via Lake Victoria steamers. Extended in the 1920s and 1930s to Kampala, it once served as a vital commercial artery but fell into disrepair over time.
The vision for revival began in 2008 when the late Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and President Museveni laid foundations for a modern SGR from Mombasa to Kampala, with branches to Kisumu and Pakwach. Leaders from Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda signed protocols to extend it further to Kigali and Juba.
Recent milestones include Phase 1A from Mombasa to Nairobi (472km) in 2014, extension to Suswa (120km), and just days ago, the Narok-Kisumu leg (264km). Ruto praised Museveni’s leadership in fostering regional unity.
The SGR addresses high logistics costs—30-40% of goods’ value—with cargo currently taking 80 hours from Mombasa to Malaba and over 100 to Kampala. It will cut freight costs by 40% per tonne-kilometre and transit times by 30%, shifting cargo to rail and easing road pressure.
Benefits extend to connecting farmers in Narok, Bomet, Kericho, and Nyamira to markets, boosting exports of tea, dairy, grains, and fish. It will spur industrial parks, logistics hubs, and jobs in construction, manufacturing, and services across Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, DRC, and Central African Republic.
Ruto described the project as breathing life into true regional integration, transforming multi-day journeys into hours and laying foundations for future prosperity.
Source: Daily Monitor (Uganda)