Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta announced that cargo services would be launched on a new billion-dollar extension of a China-funded railway line between the capital and Naivasha, a town in the Rift Valley. The president has claimed that it will encourage and facilitate the process of transporting cargo, but questions remain about the project's viability following the failure of authorities to secure funding to extend the line to Uganda’s border.
Beijing and Nairobi have jointly stated the mutually beneficial nature of this project. For China, upgrading Kenyan railways has been a part of the expansive belt and road initiative, aiming to improve land and maritime trade routes between China, Europe, Asia, and Africa. On the other hand, the project is significant for President Kenyatta as his campaign for re-election was largely centered around promising to develop the East African nation’s infrastructure. Proponents of the railway system claim it will encourage investment, create jobs, spur tourism, and lead to overall economic growth. Nonetheless, the project has many skeptics who question the railway's benefits, the government’s priorities, and the cost of the overall project, as Kenya’s current public debt stands at about 55% of GDP, up from 42% when President Kenyatta first took office in 2013.
