STiR coffee and tea magazine

STiR coffee and tea 47 Ethiopia Uganda Congo Zambia South Sudan Juda Addis Ababa Dire Dawa Islolo Lamu Mombasa Moshi Arusha Magadi Nanyuki Nairobi Tororo Nakuru Kissumu Arua Kasese Kampala Kisangani Mwanza Kigoma Tabora Mpanda Kidatu Tanga Dodoma Dar es Salaam Tunduma Nacala Rwanda Rurundi Malawi Tanzania Angola Kenya existing line, narrow gauge (1000/1067 mm) new line, standard gauge under construction, standard gauge planned, standard gauge outside Eastern Africa not all lines are shown Kipchumba Murkomen, Kenya's Cabinet Secretary of Roads and Transport, told a gathering of fellow transport min- isters, "The dream of SGR is on. As Kenya, we will leverage the private sector now, and I know that the project we have from Naivasha to Malaba, including the improvements around Kisumu Port, will cost the country around $5.3 billion." Kenyan President William Ruto met with Ugandan Yoweri Museveni in Nairobi, where both countries announced their sup- port for extending the SGR to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania are each seeking $6 billion from multiple partners to resume construction of the Malaba- Kampala segment in September. The project stalled after China, the initial financier, withdrew its support. Summary East Africa's $25 billion Railway Master Plan will rejuvenate freight and pas- senger rail service across Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. New Standard Guage Railway (SGR) tracks will be constructed to serve Rwanda and Burundi. The network will later expand to South Sudan, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The East African Community manages the project. The expansion will enable Rwandan tea to travel by rail to Mombasa. Rwanda produces about 30,000 metric tons of tea annually. KENYA | $3.8 billion | 2,778 km The Nairobi to Mombasa (472 km—293 mi) section was completed and op- erational in 2017. The section from Nairobi to Naivasha (120 km-75 mi) was East African Railway Expansion completed in 2019. The section from Naivasha to Kisumu (265km – 165 mi) is under construction with completion in 2025. Kenya produces 450,000 metric tons of tea annually. TANZANIA | $1.46 billion | 3,676 km Tanzania's rail system will be upgraded to SGR to connect western parts of the country to the port at Dar es Salaam. Sections include Dar es Salaam to Morogoro (300 km– 186 mi), Morogoro to Ma- kutupora (422km – 262 mi), Makutupora to Tabora (368km– 229 mi), Tabora to Isaka (165 km– 102 mi), and Isaka to Mwanza (341 km – 212 mi). All five legs are in the final stages of construction and are expected to be operational in 2024. Tea grown near Lake Victoria and Mount Kilimanjaro will be less expensive to transport by rail than by truck. Tanzania has produced as much as 35,000 metric tons of tea. UGANDA | $2.3 billion | 1,250 km Uganda's railway system will be extended from Malaba, Kenya, to Kampala, Uganda (236 km-146 mi). Only 265 miles of existing railway is service- able due to abandonment or closure. Uganda pro- duces approximately 60,000 metric tons of tea an- nually. Construction has not begun. In 2023 URC relaunched cargo services to the Port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania following more than decade of dormancy. *Footnote: In July 2024, three southern Afri- can nations signed an agreement to construct a rail and port project from land-locked Botswana to the sea at expanded port facilities in Techobanine, Mozambique. The route will enable tea exports from Zimbabwe and Mozambique to travel by rail. The African Development Bank has allocated $4 million to finance a feasibility study. Zimbabwe currently produces about 10,000 metric tons of tea annually. Mozambique produces about 6,000 metric tons of tea annually and is the location of the world's largest certified organic tea farm. Meanwhile, Tanzania is heading in the same direction—con- structing an electrified rail line down the central corridor from Dar es Salaam to Mwanza on the shores of Lake Victoria and from Kigoma along Lake Tanganyika. The $7.6 billion project will eventually span 1,600 kilometers in five phases. Sixty-five of 89 passenger coaches, three of 10 eight-car EMUs (electric multi-unit) trains, and 17 electric locomotives built by Hyundai Rotem in South Korea arrived in April. Service began in July with a ceremonial run from Dar es Salaam to the capital city of Dodoma. Eight wagons with a locomotive front and back can carry 598 passengers and travel at an average speed of 160 kilometers per hour.

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