Kenya, Uganda propose port rail link

Kenya and Uganda are planning a rail network connecting the Kenyan port of Mombasa with inland parts of the country and neighboring landlocked nations.   The proposed $3.5 billion rail line would replace an antiquated line built at the turn of the 20th century, Reuters reported Tuesday. The Ugandan government is particularly keen to build the project to expedite freight movement -- the government estimates it costs 10 times as much to transport goods, per ton-kilometer, by rail in East Africa as it does in China or the United States. By the end of 2007, the two countries estimated only 6 percent of cargo in the region was using rail.   The line would extend to Rwanda, Ethiopia, southern Sudan and Burundi and is projected to be completed by 2017.

Source: American Shipper