Cosmas Butunyi
9 November 2009
Nairobi — The East African Community will help resolve challenges facing the concession of railway lines in the region.
This will streamline the region's transport network and spur economic growth.
The intervention in the railway concession is one of the measures being instituted by the regional body.
EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Production and Social Sectors Jean-Claude Nsengiyumva said the infrastructure development initiatives being undertaken will address the low competitiveness of the region's economies.
Addressing participants at a forum on management of the Lake Victoria Basin, Mr Nsengiyumva said the masterplans are at different stages of implementation and will help the region work towards political integration.
The move will focus on the concession of the Kenya-Uganda railway and will include a re-evaluation of the Central Railway System in Tanzania.
Mr Nsengiyumva said a railway masterplan is being developed for East Africa and is aimed at improving the management of the network in the region.
The masterplan will address, among other issues, interconnection and expansion of the railway lines from the original coverage in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania to incorporate Rwanda and Burundi.
The Rift Valley Railways was awarded a 25-year concession to run the Kenya-Uganda railway line in 2005.
The firm has been embroiled in a series of challenges, including failure to agree on a new majority shareholder as well as sourcing for additional capital.
The signing of the EAC Common Market protocol is slated for this month, on November 20.
It will pave the way for development of a Monetary Union that will herald a Political Federation.
Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga recently said the integration of EAC will cushion the region from global economic woes.
He said the region is now a strong economic bloc following the revival of the community and the admission of Rwanda and Burundi.
The EAC Customs Union that was established four years ago is expected to come to a threshold in January 2010, when all goods traded in the region will attract zero duty.
The Lake Victoria Basin is expected to play a crucial role in the economic development of the EAC.
The Deputy Secretary General of the Lake Victoria Basin Commission, Samuel Gichere, said the strategic location of the basin makes it a regional economic growth zone.
Several projects linking the different partner states are being implemented.
They include construction of the Arusha-Namanga-Athi River Road and a power interconnection project between Kenya and Tanzania at the Namanga border point.
Preparations are underway for construction of the Arusha-Moshi-Voi and Malindi-Mombasa-Tanga-Bagamoyo road projects.
Mr Gichere added that regulations covering aviation safety, aerodromes and security in partner states are in the process of being harmonised.
Gas and oil pipelines have also been earmarked for expansion -- mainly from Eldoret to Kampala and, eventually, to Kigali and Bujumbura.
Mr Odinga called for investment in lake transport in order to open up the huge potential for trade within the region.
He asked private investors to operate luxury boats on the lake and use it as a transport and tourism corridor.
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