Uganda gets new contractor for SGR

Government has confirmed that it is set to contract Yapi Merkezi, the company constructing Tanzania’s Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) for the construction of Uganda’s SGR on the eastern and western of Malaba-Kampala-Kigali.

Yapi, a Turkish company is said to be undertaking commendable work on the SGR project in Tanzania.

The development comes months after the government terminated the contract of China Harbor Engineering Company (CHEC) to build the country’s first phase of the $2.2 billion standard gauge railway (SGR) after eight years of non-execution.

Last month, the East African newspaper reported that the financing model for the project will also change, with Yapi Merkezi, which is expected to tap into its network to bring Export Credit Agencies (ECAs) on board that will finance and breathe life into the moribund project.

Meanwhile, a Ugandan delegation led by the state minister of transport Fred Byamukama is in Tanzania for meetings on the Standard Gauge Railway.

The delegation is expected to meet Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC) and other stakeholders ahead of the Partner States Northern Corridor Integration Projects (NCIPs) SGR cluster meeting scheduled for 24-26 May 2023 in Kampala.

Written by Ritah Kemigisa