Regional trade integration took center stage on Saturday as Yoweri Museveni joined William Ruto in Kisumu to officially launch construction of the Kisumu–Malaba Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) extension, a project once again billed as transformative for cargo movement along East Africa’s busiest trade route.
The launch, held shortly after Museveni’s arrival at Kisumu International Airport, underscored renewed urgency to modernise the Northern Corridor — the key logistics artery linking the Port of Mombasa to landlocked economies such as Uganda.
Unlike earlier narratives focused on long-term transformation, both leaders framed the railway as an immediate response to mounting logistical strain, as cargo volumes surge and inefficiencies threaten regional competitiveness.
Ruto revealed that freight throughput at Mombasa reached 7.37 million tonnes in the first six months of 2025, with nearly 70 percent destined for Uganda.
However, delays remain a major bottleneck, with goods taking up to 80 hours to reach Malaba and over 100 hours to Kampala.
“A slow corridor loses business,” Ruto said, pointing to inefficiencies that raise costs across supply chains.
Museveni reiterated Uganda’s long-standing transport strategy of shifting heavy cargo to rail, petroleum to pipelines and waterways, and reserving roads for passengers and light goods, arguing this would reduce congestion and lower production costs.
Yet the latest launch also revives a history of ambitious SGR announcements that have yielded limited progress on the Ugandan side.
Uganda has, over the past decade, repeatedly launched or recommitted to its own Standard Gauge Railway project — including high-profile groundbreakings and financing announcements — but construction has largely failed to take off.
Sections such as the Malaba–Kampala route have remained on paper despite multiple timelines, shifting contractors, and financing negotiations that never fully materialised.
Earlier engagements with Chinese financiers stalled, while subsequent efforts to secure alternative funding have moved slowly, leaving Uganda without a functioning SGR segment years after initial commitments.
This stop-start trajectory contrasts with Kenya’s progress between 2013 and 2019, when the railway was constructed from Mombasa to Nairobi and later extended to Naivasha.
Even so, Kenya continues to face financial pressure servicing the railway’s debt, amid concerns over profitability and repayment obligations.
The new Kisumu–Malaba phase, estimated to cost over Ksh500 billion, is intended to bridge the remaining gap to the Uganda border.
However, without corresponding progress on Uganda’s side, questions remain about the project’s full regional impact.
Analysts note that repeated launches without sustained implementation risk reinforcing scepticism about large-scale infrastructure pledges in the region.
Still, both governments insist that completing the railway remains critical to unlocking trade efficiency along the Northern Corridor and integrating East Africa’s economies.
If realised, the SGR could significantly cut transport costs, reduce transit times, and ease pressure on road networks.
But for now, the latest launch stands as both a renewed commitment — and a reminder of past promises yet to be fulfilled.
