Kenya eyes loans, more deals from China

President William Ruto lays a wreath at the Monument to the Peoples' Heroes at Tiananmen Square in honour of the martyrs of the struggle for the founding of the Peoples' Republic of China in 1949. [PCS]

Kenya will today know the fate of its plans to revive the stalled Standard Gauge Railway to Malaba through Kisumu when President William Ruto holds discussions with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Kenya has been seeking Chinese funding to extend the SGR, which terminates at Mai Mahiu and is seen by many businesses as an inconvenient stop and many prefer using road transport. This is despite the efficiency and cost effectiveness that would come with the railway. Extension of the railway is seen as critical in easing movement of cargo to Western Kenya but also to countries in the region.