Uganda and a Turkish company signed a deal on Monday to construct a 272-kilometre railway, marking a significant step toward improving transportation infrastructure in East Africa, Anadolu Agency reports.
The railway, designed to enhance both speed and cargo capacity, is expected to strengthen Uganda’s links to regional trade routes, including the Indian Ocean seaport of Mombasa.
The agreement was signed in Kampala by Uganda’s Works Ministry Permanent Secretary, Bageya Waiswa, and Yapı Merkezi Holdings Vice Chairman, Erdem Arioglu. Uganda’s Minister of Works and Transport, Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala, and Turkish Ambassador, Fatih Ak, were among the officials present.
Bageya highlighted that the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project will help reduce transportation costs and facilitate trade across the region. The new railway, which will stretch from the Malaba border post with Kenya to Uganda’s capital, Kampala, is expected to provide faster, more efficient cargo transport than the current meter-gauge system, which has a narrower track width of 1,000 mm compared to the SGR’s 1,420-1,460 mm gauge.
Initially, China Harbour Engineering Company was contracted to build the railway but, after eight years of delays, Uganda turned to Yapı Merkezi to get the project underway.
Turkish Ambassador, Ak, emphasized Turkiye’s commitment to sharing its railway expertise to help modernise Uganda’s rail network. The Turkish construction firm, Polat Yol Yapı, is also active in Uganda, working on the Muyembe-Nakapiripirit road project, which will connect Uganda to Kenya, South Sudan and Ethiopia.
Speaking to Anadolu, Uganda’s honorary consul to Istanbul, Levent Davisoglu, stressed Uganda’s strategic role as a connector in the East African region.
