Museveni Says No to China’s SGR

The Ugandan government has cancelled the 2.2-billion-dollar procurement and construction SGR contract with China labour engineering company (CHEC) that was meant to build the country’s first standard gauge railway that was to stretch from the Kenyan border Malaba to Kampala, a 273-kilometre stretch.

Uganda has now resigned the deal to Turkish firm Yapi Merkezi which is also coincidentally building the Tanzanian standard gauge railway

After eight years delay in financing by China’s Exim bank frustrated president Yoweri Museveni, he directed mid last year for the government to open up the contract to the world's financial capitals as China blamed the Covid-19 pandemic for affecting their ability to fund big infrastructure projects in the continent.

The news of China delaying the financing of this project comes as a shock to Uganda a Nation that has been willing to hand financing to African nations especially after funding the first phase of the Kenya SGR of Mombasa Nairobi, a stretch of 578 kilometres for 3.23 billion dollars.

Experts say that China might have been shy of handing the money to Uganda especially after it became unclear if Kenya would extend its SGR from Naivasha to Kisumu through the Malaba link.

With both Uganda and Tanzania ditching China for western financiers, it leaves questions if the region is making a turnaround depending on the Asian economic giant that had dominated in bankrolling mega projects in the last decade.