EAC leaders in Kampala to review integration projects

What you need to know:

Kenya is coordinating projects that include power generation, transmission and interconnectivity, crude oil pipeline, commodities exchange, human resource capacity building and land.
Part of the achieved in the integration projects within Kenya is the Standard Gauge Railway where huge progress has been made.

President Uhuru Kenyatta has joined EAC leaders in Kampala to review the progress of regional integration projects.

Presidents Kenyatta and Yoweri Museveni (Uganda) and Paul Kagame (Rwanda) and representatives of South Sudan and Tanzania are attending the 13th Northern Corridor Integration Projects (NCIP) Summit at Speke Resort.

The Heads of State were first scheduled to hold consultations before attending a session where they will be briefed on project clusters coordinated by Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda.

Kenya is coordinating projects that include power generation, transmission and interconnectivity, crude oil pipeline, commodities exchange, human resource capacity building and land.

The project cluster coordinated by Uganda includes the Standard Gauge Railway, Information Communication, oil refinery, political federation and financing. Rwanda coordinates immigration, tourism, trade, labour and services, single customs territory, mutual defence cooperation, mutual peace and security cooperation and airspace management.

Rwanda-Sudan SGR

Part of the achieved in the integration projects within Kenya is the Standard Gauge Railway where huge progress has been made.

Construction of the Mombasa-Nairobi SGR section has now reached 75 per cent and is expected to be completed by 2017.

A commercial contract and financing agreement for the Nairobi-Naivasha SGR section has been signed and construction expected to begin by September.

Kenya has also signed a commercial agreement with China Communication Construction Company for the Naivasha-Kisumu-Malaba sections and construction of a modern port at Kisumu and the Kenya Government is currently sourcing funding.

On the Uganda part of the SGR, preparations are at advanced stages and the Ugandan Government has signed a commercial contract with China Habour Engineering Company for the Malaba-Kampala section.

Feasibility studies for the Rwanda and South Sudan sections of the SGR is expected to be ready by June 2016 and December 2016 respectively.