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SGR to benefit from renewed Sino-Kenya relations
President William Ruto with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China.
President William Ruto is in China for a State visit that aims to unlock new opportunities in trade, investment and infrastructure.
The trip builds on the strategic partnership between Kenya and China. Kenya is recognised as China’s top Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) partner in Africa.
The country has played a key role in Kenya’s infrastructure projects such as the standard gauge railway (SGR) and the Nairobi Expressway.
While in Beijing, President Ruto officiated the Kenya-China Business Forum, bringing together over 100 companies from both countries to explore new opportunities in trade, investment, digital innovation and industrial growth.
He also opened the Kenya Tea Holding Centre in Fujian Province, which aimed to boost the visibility and market access of Kenyan tea, support smallholder farmers and expand Kenya’s trade footprint in Asia.
President Ruto also delivered a keynote address at Peking University, where he outlined Africa’s vision for inclusive growth, leadership, and South-South cooperation.
Kenya and China will continue aligning the BRI to Kenya’s national development priorities, focusing on building a strong industrial and logistics hub for East Africa.
Improving the capability of the SGR transport system is aimed at addressing the existing challenges of railway transport.
An SGR train at the Naivasha Inland Container Depot on January 17, 2022.
A 2023 study published in the International Academic Journal of Economics and Finance concluded that the SGR needs continuous improvement focusing on rapidly changing environments as well as continuous utilisation of risk assessments and reporting mechanisms.
It also recommended investing in the spatial development framework and strong management follow-up, as well as benchmarking and streamlining all operations.
Afristar, the SGR operator, has implemented these recommendations, as exemplified by the performance of the freight service, which has transformed cargo transportation between Mombasa and Nairobi, with extensions to Naivasha.
The SGR reduced cargo transit time from Mombasa to Nairobi from two to three days by road to eight to 12 hours by rail. Currently, Afristar operates nine freight trains daily.
As of 2023, the SGR held 30-35 per cent market share of Kenya’s freight transport.
The SGR has also created over 2,000 direct jobs and over 30,000 indirect ones. It has additionally reduced carbon emissions compared to trucks, aligning with Kenya’s climate goals.
The SGR will benefit immensely from the skills and technology transfer programmes facilitated by Afristar. The local workforce continues to receive knowledge and experience from the Chinese expatriates as they also pass it on to those joining the SGR.
Moreover, through its affiliation with renown railway training institutions in China, Afristar continues to benefit the SGR staff by inviting railway professionals to provide more knowledge and skills to them.
For instance, the operator, in collaboration with Guangzhou Railway Polytechnic in China, is currently hosting an online training programme on railway operations for the Kenya SGR staff.
The writer is a communication practitioner.
