By RFIPosted on 16-10-2019Modified on 16-10-2019 at 23:00
A 120-kilometer rail line between Nairobi and Susua, further north, was inaugurated in Kenya on Wednesday (October 16th), although experts question its viability.
Barely opened, the line is already riddled with controversy. The project was expensive. $ 1.5 billion. The bond was built with Chinese loans, while Kenya is already heavily indebted to Beijing.
The railway runs from Ongata Rongai, a remote suburb of central Nairobi, to Susua, a commonplace town in the Rift Valley. To the point that its detractors call it " the line to nowhere ". Wednesday, President Kenyatta preferred to answer with irony his critics.
" Today we are" nowhere ". We have just inaugurated the new "crazy line". But our vision is clear. We are going somewhere. Let's unite and build our vision. Let's develop our country. And do not be discouraged by those who criticize and have nothing to do but depress us. I will not let myself down . "
President Uhuru Kenyatta today said that the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR). #MadarakaExpress https://t.co/a0MfAMFi1i pic.twitter.com/kNkB90hzFt
State House Kenya (@StateHouseKenya) October 16, 2019The line currently only takes passengers. Freight will come later, and it is the freight that is supposed to pay the most, in order to pay the operator and repay the loans.
To make matters worse, the project comes after the inauguration of another line, between Nairobi and Mombasa on the coast , which it has cost more than $ 3 billion and which already records significant losses.
Finally, President Kenyatta wants to connect these lines with a final link to Uganda. Some accuse the head of state of being blinded by a series of white elephants.
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