Construction of the rail that runs through Mbarara, Kabale to Kigali is expected to begin in March 2009

The construction of a railway line from the Port of Mombasa to the Ugandan capital Kampala will also be extend to Rwanda according to a Ugandan Minister.

The development was confirmed by the Honorable John Byabagambi, the Ugandan Minister of State for Transport and Works in an interview with The New Times on Thursday.

"The new railway will be built along the old ones though the old railway which in existence now is substandard and very slow. The railway line connecting to Kigali will originate from the South Western town of Kasese through Mbarara and Kabale to Kigali though I am not sure about Burundi,” he said.

He added that the new railway will be faster and more efficient compared to the old railway that had been in existence in Kasese before it was shut down.

The new railway will also be built with a standard gauge of international standards that is more efficient.

"We have to develop the railway links to facilitate trade in the region. The railway in Kasese had closed down because copper mining had stopped but now there many industries operating and there is a lot of business around the area that requires the use of the railway,”  he said.

The standard gauge will stretch from Mombasa to Kampala, Gulu to Wau in South Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo.

According to Byabagambi, feasibility studies for the project will begin by early next year to determine the financial cost and the technicalities of the investment. 

He also noted that the funding modalities of the project are yet to be done   to determine whether the project would be financed by the regional community (EAC) or the partner states involved in the project.

"But for Uganda and Kenya incase we realize that the project is taking too long to take off, we will have to meet the financial costs ourselves though it would be better if the project is regionally coordinated. It would be easier because development of joint railway is already part of the East African railway Master Plan,” he added.

Early this week a meeting in the Kenyan capital of Kenya, the Ugandan President Museveni and President Mwai Kibaki of Kenya agreed to create a joint ministerial commission to speed up the construction of a rail way linking the port of Mombasa to Kampala, South Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi and DRC.

According to a press statement issued by the Ugandan State House on Tuesday, the joint Ministerial Commission will comprise the two countries’ Ministers of Transport.

Others will include the Finance minister and the respective Attorneys General of the two countries. Work on the railway line will commence in March next year.

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