Ugandan ministers differ on SGR plan as Kenya mulls Kisumu terminal

The Ugandan government has denied pulling out of the Standard Gauge Railway project.

Kenya was to build the railway from Mombasa to Malaba border from where Uganda would extend it to the capital Kampala.

The plan, part of the Northern Corridor Integrated Project, was to connect the two countries.

However, there have been reports Uganda is no longer interested in extending the SGR from Malaba. Yesterday, Works and Transport minister Monica Azuba said Uganda was still keen on the project.

She distanced herself from a statement attributed to Finance Minister Matia Kasaija, that Uganda is instead focusing on revamping an old railway as an alternative means of transport.

"These reports are incorrect. Uganda has not abandoned the SGR project. We are still on track in implementing this very important project. It will cut down travel time and costs of moving our cargo from Mombasa to Kampala. This will also ease the pressure on our roads,” Azuba said at the Lake Victoria Basin Commission headquarters in Kisumu, yesterday.

She added: "We keep spending a lot on money repairing our roads because about 90 per cent of our cargo is transported by roads. We are keen on SGR because it will be the game changer."