Kenya opens $1.5 billion railway linking Rift Valley town and Nairobi

Reuters | Kenya has opened a US$1.5 billion railway line linking Nairobi to Naivasha on Wednesday, despite delays in building an industrial park in the Rift Valley town to encourage freight.

The extension links to the US$3.2 billion line between the port of Mombasa and Nairobi that opened in 2017 but is so far underutilized for cargo services.

Upgrading Kenyan railways has been part of Beijing’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative, multi-billion dollar infrastructure projects aimed at improving land and maritime trade routes between China and Europe, Asia and Africa.

Kenya had planned to open an industrial park in Naivasha, offering companies tax breaks for investing in manufacturing, and preferential tariffs for electricity generated in the nearby geothermal fields. But that has been delayed.

The railway was a pet project of President Uhuru Kenyatta who opened the extension on Wednesday.

Kenyatta was re-elected for a 5-year term in 2017 after promising to develop the East African nation’s infrastructure, but it has been dogged by problems.

Kenyatta rejected criticism of his plans, likening suggestions that the new railway was to “nowhere” to criticism of the original Uganda-Kenya railway by politicians during the British colonial era, who called it the “lunatic express”.

“Those who think they will take us backwards, they should leave Kenya and look for another country,” Kenyatta said as he opened the new railway.

The railway from the port city of Mombasa had already had a positive impact on the economy, citing tourism, investments and communications.