May 6, 2019

Summary

Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale has opposed plans to have the Standard Gauge
Railway (SGR) diverted to Kisumu to support the handshake. The original route for the second phase of the SGR was from
Naivasha-Nakuru-eldoret-Turbo-Kavulengu-Webuye-Tanduyi-Malaba.

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Don’t Change SGR Route To Kisumu For Handshake Sake – Boni Khalwale

Don’t Change SGR Route To Kisumu For Handshake Sake – Boni Khalwale

Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale has opposed plans to have the Standard Gauge
Railway (SGR) diverted to Kisumu, saying that was not the original route and
that forcing SGR to Kisumu is a dead end that denies it viability in both the
long and short term.

The original route for the second phase of the SGR was from
Naivasha-Nakuru-eldoret-Turbo-Kavulengu-Webuye-Tanduyi-Malaba.

“This is the route we support as patriotic sons and daughters of this
country and not this business of forcing the SGR to pass via Kisumu to support
the handshake,” Khalwale said.

The second phase (2A) of the SGR, which is expected to be completed this
year. The 120-km Nairobi-Naivasha line is the first of the three segments that
make up the second phase of the SGR project that ends in Malaba town located at
the Kenya-Uganda border.

The Mombasa-Nairobi phase cost was Sh327 billion, the extension to Naivasha
Sh150 billion and the final phase will cost Sh380 billion.

President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga were in China last week to
allegedly to seek for a loan to finance the third phase of the SGR.

Statehouse, however, refuted the allegations saying the Sh368bn SGR loan was
not part of Uhuru-Jinping talks.

Chief of Staff Nzioka Waita issued a statement on Saturday, following
reports in the media that China declined to give Kenya a Sh368 billion loan,
saying the reports were “misleading and extremely damaging to the reputation of
the people and the Government of the Republic of Kenya.”

“It is important to note that the question of funding for the extension
of the standard gauge railway from Naivasha to Kisumu was not on the agenda of
the meeting between the two Presidents. It therefore follows that the President
cannot be said to be returning home empty-handed for something he did not
request,”
he said.

SGR Phase 2A Nairobi- Naivasha

Nzioka also announced that phase 2A of the SGR will be completed by August
2019.

He also said that the plans to rehabilitate the SGR to the port of Kisumu
is an important step, which is aimed to ensure the continuous flow of cargo
from Naivasha.

“To mitigate any risk of disruption to the movement of cargo, Kenya shared
its short term plans to rehabilitate the meter gauge railway to the port of
Kisumu to ensure seamless interconnection with the SGR at the Naivasha
facilities,” he said.

Uhuru-Jinping talks “extremely successful”

Nzioka Waita also maintained that the talks between president Uhuru
Kenyatta and Chinese President Xi Jinping were extremely successful and
highlighted the key “goodies” for Kenya that the meeting between the two
leaders yielded. These include;

  1. The signing of a trade agreement for the export of frozen
    avocados from Kenya to China, which followed the signing of an MoU on
    Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards late last year for the export to China
    from Kenya of various horticultural products.
  2. The signing of a Framework Agreement between the Kenya National
    Highways Authority and the China Road and Bridge Cooperation for the
    construction of Kenya’s first expressway from Jomo Kenyatta International
    Airport to Westlands.
  3. The signing of a financing agreement valued at Sh17 billion between
    the Kenya and China EXIM Bank for the construction of the Konza Technopolis
    Data Center and IT infrastructure.
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