In the newspapers
- Thread starter Cortedivoire
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Mwalimu-G
Elder Lister
I thought we were told the Emirati princes were putting up the money for the SGR extension to Malaba?
Kenya turns to the UAE for railway funds after China cut financing
By Duncan Miriri and Rachna Uppal
January 15, 20251:22 PM GMT+3Updated 3 months ago
A worker fixes a section of the SGR railway track, near the town of Kiu south of Nairobi, Kenya, December 16, 2019.
REUTERS
-Both sides to carry out feasibility study,
-Ruto saysKenya also finalising loan with UAE for budget support
-UAE says Kenya a gateway to East Africa
NAIROBI/ABU DHABI, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Kenya has started discussions with the United Arab Emirates to secure financing to complete a regional railway, President William Ruto said, after China cut infrastructure funding to the project.
The railway connecting the Kenyan port of Mombasa with landlocked neighbours, as part of China's Belt and Road Initiative, ended in the Rift Valley in 2019, 468 kilometres (290 miles) short of the border with Uganda, after Beijing withdrew support.
"We are exploring a partnership agreement with the United Arab Emirates to extend the Standard Gauge Railway to connect Kenya, Uganda and South Sudan," Ruto said on X late on Tuesday, after meeting UAE officials in Abu Dhabi.
Both sides will carry out a feasibility study on the extension of the railway, he said, "due to its capacity to foster regional integration and promote trade".
Ruto's office did not respond to Reuters' request for more details.
Ruto, who took over in September 2022, has pursued closer ties with the UAE, and Kenya is also finalising a $1.5 billion commercial loan from the UAE for budget support.
The East African nation and the UAE signed a comprehensive economic partnership agreement on Tuesday, aiming to boost trade volumes by removing barriers, simplifying customs processes and promoting investments."Kenya is going to be a gateway for sure for East Africa," Thani Al Zeyoudi, the UAE's minister of trade, told Reuters on Tuesday.
Trade between Kenya and the UAE has more than doubled over the last decade, Ruto's office said. The UAE is the sixth biggest export market for Kenyan goods, and its second biggest source of imports.The value of the trade stood at 445 billion shillings ($3.44 billion) in 2023, with the UAE buying agricultural products, while Kenya gets petroleum products, machinery and chemicals.
The UAE's Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Emirates National Oil Company were among three Gulf firms Ruto's government picked in 2023 to supply Kenya with oil on longer credit terms, in a shift from an open tender system.
Kenya turns to the UAE for railway funds after China cut financing
By Duncan Miriri and Rachna Uppal
January 15, 20251:22 PM GMT+3Updated 3 months ago
A worker fixes a section of the SGR railway track, near the town of Kiu south of Nairobi, Kenya, December 16, 2019.
REUTERS
-Both sides to carry out feasibility study,
-Ruto saysKenya also finalising loan with UAE for budget support
-UAE says Kenya a gateway to East Africa
NAIROBI/ABU DHABI, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Kenya has started discussions with the United Arab Emirates to secure financing to complete a regional railway, President William Ruto said, after China cut infrastructure funding to the project.
The railway connecting the Kenyan port of Mombasa with landlocked neighbours, as part of China's Belt and Road Initiative, ended in the Rift Valley in 2019, 468 kilometres (290 miles) short of the border with Uganda, after Beijing withdrew support.
"We are exploring a partnership agreement with the United Arab Emirates to extend the Standard Gauge Railway to connect Kenya, Uganda and South Sudan," Ruto said on X late on Tuesday, after meeting UAE officials in Abu Dhabi.
Both sides will carry out a feasibility study on the extension of the railway, he said, "due to its capacity to foster regional integration and promote trade".
Ruto's office did not respond to Reuters' request for more details.
Ruto, who took over in September 2022, has pursued closer ties with the UAE, and Kenya is also finalising a $1.5 billion commercial loan from the UAE for budget support.
The East African nation and the UAE signed a comprehensive economic partnership agreement on Tuesday, aiming to boost trade volumes by removing barriers, simplifying customs processes and promoting investments."Kenya is going to be a gateway for sure for East Africa," Thani Al Zeyoudi, the UAE's minister of trade, told Reuters on Tuesday.
Trade between Kenya and the UAE has more than doubled over the last decade, Ruto's office said. The UAE is the sixth biggest export market for Kenyan goods, and its second biggest source of imports.The value of the trade stood at 445 billion shillings ($3.44 billion) in 2023, with the UAE buying agricultural products, while Kenya gets petroleum products, machinery and chemicals.
The UAE's Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Emirates National Oil Company were among three Gulf firms Ruto's government picked in 2023 to supply Kenya with oil on longer credit terms, in a shift from an open tender system.
zapp_brannigan
I am not a Futurama fan .
Confusion everywhere
Mwalimu-G
Elder Lister
The UAE announcement was a lie to cover for whatever nefarious mission had taken someone to UAE in a hurry. There was also another announcement about leasing Galana Kulalu. Red herrings.
Kenya inks MoU with Abu Dhabi's Al Dahra to expand Galana-Kulalu irrigation projectIn January 2023, Ruto issued a directive for Galana project to move forward under PPP arrangement
by EMMANUEL WANJALARealtime12 February 2025 - 21:25
The Galana project has faced challenges in implementation and delayed its initial completion timelines.In 2019, the project stalled after the government terminated the contractor.
President William Ruto witnesses the signing of MoU with UAE's Al Dahra by Water and Irrigation CS Eric Muga at State House, February 12, 2025. /PCS
Kenya has signed a deal with Abu Dhabi’s Al Dahra agribusiness company to expand the Galana-Kulalu irrigation project.
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President William Ruto witnessed the signing of the MoU at State House, Nairobi on Wednesday.
"Irrigation is a key pillar of our food security value chain. Our plan is to ensure increased agricultural production and productivity to feed the nation," the President said.
Galana Kulalu Food Security project is located in the coastal region within Kilifi and Tana River counties.
The $52,670,000 (Sh6.79bn) project by the government in partnership with the private sector is expected to end Kenya's perennial Maize shortage.
The National Irrigation Authority is the implementing agency.
"We are building on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between Kenya and the United Arab Emirates to initiate development, including irrigation projects, that impacts the lives of Kenyans," Ruto said.
The Galana project has faced challenges in implementation and delayed its initial completion timelines.
In 2019, the project stalled after the government terminated the contractor.
Maize is the staple food in Kenya with an annual maize consumption of 48 million bags.
On completion, the project is expected to meet the country's 41 per cent annual maize consumption demand.
It is also set to be the biggest in east and southern Africa and a major milestone for Kenya in attaining food security.
In December last year, Irrigation PS, Ephantus Kimotho, said the government was in talks with Al Dahra to lease farmland to the company as part of plans to boost Kenya's food security.
He said the company would invest about $800 million (Sh103 million) to farm 200,000 acres of land at Galana.
“We are still negotiating, but we might soon sign a memorandum of understanding,” Kimotho told Bloomberg, indicating that the deal would be signed soon.
In January 2023, the President issued a directive for Galana project to move forward under implementation of the project through Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) arrangement models.
Production on the already developed 10,000 acres, and an additional 10,000 acres in the medium term.
The aspects to be implemented under PPP included production on the already developed 10,000 acres, and an additional 10,000 acres in the medium term.
The deal would also involve construction of Galana Dam to support another 350,000 acres for food production in the long term.
China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC – Kenya) submitted a Privately Initiated Proposal (PIP) to construct the Galana Dam, National Irrigation Authority said.
"Their PIP was approved to move to the Project Development Phase, according to the PPP Act 2021," the gency said.
The Dam is designed to hold 306 million cubic meters of water and will be crucial in supporting agricultural activities on another 350,000 acres designated for food production.
The authority said Selu Ltd submitted a PIP to undertake production and after it was approved to move to the Project Development Phase, they embarked on trials on the already developed 10,000 acres.