Why China is keen on the standard gauge railway project

The Chinese see the standard gauge railway (SGR) being laid from Mombasa as a great pathway to their economic conquest of the whole of Africa.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi appealed to Kenyans to accept the construction of the line, saying it will create a link required in Africa for trade with China.

The SGR is actually an key step towards implementing the important China-Africa consensus of building high speed railways on the continent, he told reporters in Nairobi.

Mr Wang said the African Union and China had agreed on a vision to aid regional integration through infrastructure. Kenya, he added, is the first step to that vision.

Mr Wang completed his tour of Africa Saturday after visiting Sudan, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo and Equatorial Guinea.

It was clear though that his visit was focussed on the whole of Africa.

In Nairobi, he met with 10 Cabinet secretaries most of whom are from line ministries supervising projects managed by Chinese firms.

“We held bilateral talks as well as regional and international issues of mutual interest in a sincere and cordial atmosphere and reached broad consensus,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Amina Mohamed said after meeting Mr Wang.

Ms Mohamed’s colleagues at the meeting included Ms Anne Waiguru (Devolution), Prof Jacob Kaimenyi (Education), Mr Henry Rotich (the Treasury), Eng Michael Kamau (Transport and Infrastructure), Mr Davis Chirchir (Energy), Mr James Macharia (Health), Mr Fred Matiang’i (Information) and Mr Adan Mohammed (Industrialisation).

“The presence of my cabinet colleagues here today is a clear indication of the seriousness Kenya attaches to our bilateral relations with China. It is an indication that there is a lot more that we can do together,” Ms Mohamed argued.

In Africa, Chinese firms are involved in more than 1,000 projects in transport, mining, construction, energy and even health.

In Kenya, they signed 17 agreements last year with the government covering diplomatic relations, energy, transport and infrastructure, wildlife conservation, energy, education and health. Mr Wang was also here to assess and enhance the implementation of these agreements.

But the growing Chinese influence has been criticised before. Some economists argue the agreements simply mean more debt for Kenya, especially since Kenyans do not know the details of most of the loans.

Every agreement the Chinese sign is associated with a Chinese implementing firm.

Last year, the Chinese Export-Import Bank signed a loan deal to finance 90 per cent of the first phase of the SGR from Mombasa to Nairobi.

The line covering 485km is estimated to cost Sh327 billion. Under the deal Kenya will cover only 10 per cent of this cost, but a Chinese company will build it.

READ: Shock of Sh120bn hidden cost in the Chinese railway deal

The Chinese argue after all is said and done, it is the Kenyan people who will benefit most.

“What Kenya needs now is infrastructure development, and therefore it is not about China’s interests. It is more about Kenya’s urgent need of developing infrastructure. That is why China is ready to lend a helping hand when a friend is in need,” Mr Wang argued.

The initial phase of the SGR from Mombasa to Nairobi is being built by the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) and is expected to be ready by early 2017.

Construction has been delayed since 2013 due to legal squabbles about tendering as well as how to compensate for government-expropriated land.