Govt seeks adviser to find operator for SGR

Kenya has invited bids for an adviser to help identify an operator for its new standard gauge railway network, a massive infrastructure project aimed at boosting trade and cutting transport costs across East Africa.

The $13.8 billion rail project, which began in December 2014, will eventually link Kenya’s Indian Ocean port of Mombasa to the capital Nairobi, then on to Uganda.

State-run Kenya Railways (KR) said in a newspaper advertisement on Tuesday the adviser would recommend the appropriate operating model for the railway that is currently under construction.

The new Chinese-funded railway line is expected to ferry heavier and bigger containers much faster and reduce pressure on the region’s roads, which have been damaged by heavy traffic and uneven maintenance.

The new railway is expected to open up to commercial services in mid-2017.

The existing metre gauge railway was built by the British at the turn of the last century and is in bad shape due to years of mismanagement and neglect.