Kenya has been unable to finalize a monetary deal for the construction of a railway line which will connect the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) to the city centre of Nairobi.
The deal was intended to be completed during President Uhuru Kenyatta’s most recent visit to France. The deal not getting finalized, has now put a significant delay on the 128 million Euros (around 16.3 billion Kenyan Shillings) infrastructure plan.
It had been the expectation that when the President would embark on the two day visit to the French capital of Paris, that the 16.8 billion Kenyan Shilling deal would be signed and sealed.
The Cabinet Secretary for Transport; James Macharia during a conversation with Business Daily Africa stated that the trip to France did not result in the finalization of the deal that will be funding the creation of the five (5) kilometre metre gauge line which will connect the airport to the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) terminus located at Syokimau.
Prior agreements had laid the groundwork for the signing of the loan agreement by the 30th of June 2021 when the President was in France.
Mr. James Macharia without going into much detail stated that, “No agreements were signed, we just reviewed progress towards the launch of the project.”
What this means in a nutshell, is that the rail project for which construction was initially expected to kickoff by August of 2021 after a deal with as finalized between the President of France; Emmanuel Macron and President Uhuru Kenyatta in March of 2019, has now been delayed.
The loan is also expected to help in the refurbishing of the old 17 kilometre railway track which connects to the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) line at Syokimau, an automatic fare collection system, a terminal at Donholm, and the construction of two (2) airport stations.
When asked by Business Daily Africa about the reasons for the delays in finalizing the 16.3 billion Kenyan Shilling loan deal the Kenya Railways Corporation said questions should be forwarded to the Treasury.
In the words of the Chairman of the Kenya Railways Corporation; Pastor Awitta, “As per the financial protocol, signing of the loan agreement was expected by June 30, 2021. This is being handled by the Treasury. The Treasury are best placed to provide an indicative timeline.”
The railway line for the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) to Nairobi’s city centre was intended to help decongest Kenya’s capital city, while also reducing the time it takes commuting between Nairobi’s Central Business District (CBD) and Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) which is the region’s biggest international airport. Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) took care of 11.7 million domestic and international travellers in 2020 alone.
As it stands now the distance between Nairobi’s city centre and the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) is 20 kilometres. With this in mind, commuting between both locations should ideally take anything from 1 hour to as low as 30 minutes.
Due to the traffic situation which regularly occurs on the usually busy Mombasa Road, the journey takes as much as two (2) hours.
Back and forth struggles regarding tenders had played a part in the delay with regards to the construction of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) railway line which has been further hindered by the current situation with the funding deal.
The Treasury had reportedly made known its concerns regarding the involvement of a consortium of French companies in the construction of the new railway line. Following a request from the Ministry of Transport, it refused to commit funds.
The Ministry of Transport made it known to the Treasury that the group of five (5) French firms spearheaded by Egis Group, had been chosen for the railway project after the agreement for a financial deal was arrived with commercial lender; BPI France Assurance Export and Paris.
A decision was made not long after by the government to drop the move to have the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) railway line constructed by private entities who would recoup the money through toll charges. It instead decided to go for a loan from France.
According to Business Daily Africa the struggles over turfs hung on statements that the Cabinet was yet to approve the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) rail project even though the deal was part of a multi bill Kenyan Shilling trade agreement which the President of France; Emmanuel Macron and President Uhuru Kenyatta during his visit to Kenya in March of 2019.
The Public Private Partnership (PPP) deal which is led by French company; Egis Group, has also been criticized for not complying with the law.
The French firms which make up the consortium are, Alstom, Egis Group, Sogea-Satom, Thales and Transdev all of whom are major names in the rail transport industry.
The construction of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) railway link was initially projected to be completed by 2021. The President of France; Emmanuel Macron believed that it was one of the key projects that will aid in further solidifying the bilateral relations between Kenya and France and pledged to provide more sustainable financing in what was viewed by a number of observers as a jab at China.
For the construction of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) line from Mombasa to Nairobi China has so far, provided almost 500 billion Kenyan Shillings in loans. A number of critics have however made known their concerns over the increased debt burden on Kenya and the loans it has received from China.
The People’s Republic Of China had also made it known that it was interested in helping to expand the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) line to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and the Nairobi city centre through Syokimau, but the plan was however viewed as being expensive and subsequently got dropped.
According to Business Daily Africa sources who are aware of the railway deal believe that China has a hand in the numerous attempt to stop it.
The joint press briefing between President Uhuru Kenyatta and President Emmanuel Macron at the Nairobi Central Business District (CBD) railway terminus was seen as being symbolic as a result of the location that was chosen.
During the press briefing the French President continued to mention ‘respect for sovereignty’ and ‘sustainable financing’ in what was interpreted as being his own method of making his belief known that funding from France is better than finding from China.
During the President of France; Emmanuel Macron’s two (2) day visit a number of French companies were able to seal deals worth more than 300 billion Kenyan Shillings. It is said that the rivalry between China and France over the railway deal began, as soon as the French President left Kenya.
The following week the Chinese Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya set up a tour of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) and invited Kenyan officials, scholars, journalists, and Members of Parliament.
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