Construction of East Africa's first-ever standard-gauge railway, which is being undertaken by Kenya, the region's largest economy, has been pushed back by nine months after Kenya’s railway operator delayed the procurement process for the $3-billion project.
The Kenyan government now has allocated $36 million in the new financial year, which began on July 1, to jump-start the stalled design studies that were initially slated for completion in April, according to Kenyan Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta.
The 970-kilometer standard-gauge railway (SGR) will link the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa with Malaba, on the Kenya/Uganda border, with actual construction having been pushed back to September 2012 from December 2011.