East African Community to assist member states revive their railways network
Business Report By Leoa Omolo In Kiasumu City
Nov 15, 2009 at 1:23 AM

The East African Community has expressed its readiness to help resolve the challenges facing concession of railway lines in the region.
This will streamline the region’s transport network and spur economic growth. The intervention in the railway concession is one of the measures being instituted by the regional body.

The EAC’s Deputy Secretary General in charge of production and social sector, Jean Claude Nsengivumwa has said the infrastructure development initiatives being undertaken will address the low competitiveness of the region’s economies.

Addressing the participants at a recent forum on management of the Lake Victoria Basin in the Kenyan lakeside City of Kisumu, Mr Nsengivuymwa said the railway master plan are at different stages of implementation, and will help the region work towards political integration.

The move, he said, will focus on the concession of the Kenya-Uganda railway, and will include re-evaluation of the Central Railway system. It is being developed for East Africa and is aimed at improving the management of the network in the region.

The envisaged master plan will address, among other issues, interconnection and expansion of the railway line from the original coverage in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda to incorporate Rwanda and Burundi.

The Rift Valley Railways was awarded a 25-year concession to run the Kenya-Uganda railway line in 2005. The firm has been embroiled in a series of challenges, including failure to agree on a new majority shareholder as well as sourcing additional capital.

The signing of the EAC Common Market Protocol is slated for next week, on November 20th,2009. It will pave the way for development of a Monetary Union that will herald a political federation.

Kenya’s Prime Minister, Raila Odinga, was recently quoted as saying Rwanda and Burundi will cushion the region from global economic woes.
Mr Odinga said the region is now a strong economic bloc, following the revival of the Community and the admission of Rwanda and Burundi.
The East Africa Community Customs Union, that was established four years ago, is expected to come in threshold in January 2010, when all goods traded in the region will attract zero duty. Lake Victoria Basin is expected to play a crucial role in the economic development of the EAC.

The Deputy Secretary General of the Lake Victoria Basin Commission, Samuel Gachere, said the strategic locations of the basin makes it a regional economic growth zone. Several projects linking the different partner states are being implemented.

They include the construction of the Arusha-Namanga-Athi River road, and a power interconnection project between Kenya and Tanzania at the Namanga border point.

Preparation is also underway for the construction of Arusha-Moshi -Voi and Malindi-Mombasa,Tanga Bagamoyo projects.

Mr. Gichere aqdded that regulation covering aviation safety, aerodromes and security in partner states are in the process of being harmonized.

Gas and oil pipelines have also been earmarked for expansion; mainly from Eldoret to Kampala and, eventually, to Kigali and Bujumbura.
Mr Odinga called for investment in lake transport in order to open up the huge potential for trade within the region. He asked private investors to operate luxury boats on the lake and use it as a transport and tourism corridor.

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