The government of Uganda has sealed a deal with Yapi Merkezi, a Turkish construction firm for the development of an electric standard gauge railway project.
Bageya Waiswa, the permanent secretary of Uganda’s Ministry of Works and Transport confirmed the report and said the project is crucial for Uganda, as it promises to reduce transportation costs and facilitate trade across East Africa.
Malaba-Kampala railway
The Malaba-Kampala railway will be fully electrified and built to European and American standards, with a design speed of 120 km/h. It will feature two major stations, four medium stations, a marshalling yard, and three freight terminals. This railway is expected to carry 25 million tons of freight annually, playing a vital role in regional connectivity.
The first segment of its planned SGR project will cover 272 km of the overall 1,700 km electric railway. It will link Uganda’s capital, Kampala, to Malaba on the Kenyan border, connecting to Kenya’s railway network and ultimately the port of Mombasa. The $3 billion project, slated to begin in November 2024, is expected to take 48 months to complete.
Yapi Merkezi’s Vice Chairperson, Erdem Arıoğlu, highlighted the firm’s pride in undertaking this major project, one of the largest ever signed by a Turkish contractor abroad. Uganda’s Minister of Works and Transport, Gen. Katumba Wamala, expressed confidence that the project would boost regional trade and economic integration.
This contract follows a previously unsuccessful deal with a China-based company in 2015, which was cancelled due to financing issues. Yapı Merkezi’s involvement marks a new chapter, further supported by a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2022, with formal negotiations concluded in 2024. The railway is part of a larger vision to connect Uganda and Kenya to the Indian Ocean via the Port of Mombasa, potentially extending westward to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.