Kenya is set to begin the Mombasa-Nairobi standard gauge railway construction as soon as funds needed to start the project is released by China from a loan deal that should be finalized next month.

 

　　William Ruto, Kenya’s Deputy President said on TV, Sunday that Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang would visit the East African country, during which “commercial agreements” would be signed to kickstart the construction of the railway.

 

　　“The initial preparations are on course,” said Ruto. “We have made budget allocations for compensation and other suppliers and come 2018 the railway will at least be working up to Nairobi.”

 

　　Keqiang’s Kenya visit comes after President Kenyatta visited Beijing, where a $5 billion deal was signed for railway line financing, improvement of wildlife protection and energy project.

 

　　A breakdown of the $14 billion project shows that phase one will cost $3.8 billion.

 

　　To ensure its railway dream materialises, Kenya has set aside $254 million from its 2014 budget and also taken 1.5 percent of all imports as railway development levy, a move that has raised more than $173 million for the country.

 

　　Although the contractor had already set up sites at some strategic points, serious work is not expected to begin until next month.

 

　　The railway, which will stretch from Mombasa in Uganda, home to East Africa’s largest port, all the way to Kigali, Rwanda’s capital city and Juba, South Sudan, is expected to herald a major transformation for East Africa’s economy, with cheaper cost of transportation most likely to lead to reduced price of goods.