There's need to shift focus from import to export trade

Export cargo arrives at the port of Mombasa on board SGR freight train. [Photo/Standard

With the first delivery of cargo from Mombasa to Nairobi recently, positive stories continue to come out of Jubilee's flagship project that is the Standard Gauge Railway. SGR, as it is popularly known, will eventually replace the old metre gauge railway line built by Indian coolies in the late 1890s to early 1900.

The first phase of the construction between Mombasa and Nairobi was completed in June 2017 at a cost of Sh327 billion. The overall cost by the time the SGR reaches Malaba will be Sh1 trillion. In short, this is a loan that has to be repaid. Servicing this loan, and indeed any other, demands transformation of our economy from being import-oriented to export oriented. One of the ‘big four’ that President Uhuru has identified as key to moving the country forward is manufacturing, both for the local market and export.