SGR financing talks with bank hit top gear

Talks with China Exim Bank to finance the Naivasha-Malaba phase of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) are in the final stages.

Kenya Railways Managing Director Atanas Maina said at the weekend the bank, which financed the Mombasa- Nairobi section at a cost of Sh293.3 billion, is ready to fund the remaining section.

“The bank has expressed intention to finance this phase, including the Malaba-Kampala section as a network,” he said.

COMMERCIAL AGREEMENTS

Addressing the press at Kenya Railways headquarters, Mr Maina disclosed that the corporation had already finalised commercial agreements with the Chinese lender.

He, however, did not offer details on how much the bank will fork out for the project.

“From Kenya Railways end, we have finalised the commercial agreements and we believe that in the course of next year, we may be able to close the financing of that particular section,” he said.

The phase has been divided into two parts - the Naivasha-Kisumu phase, which will cover 262km, and the Kisumu-Malaba section, to cover 107km.