Transport cooperation continues to flourish

Just like the Tanzania-Zambia Railway, the standard gauge railway in Kenya has strengthened relations between China and Africa

Despite the prolonged sluggish performance of the world economy, mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Africa has been flourishing.

A significant number of large-scale infrastructure projects in rail, roads, ports, airports, electricity, water supplies and telecommunications are underway across Africa.

Key among these projects is the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway, construction of which kicked off in 2014 and is expected to be complete next year.

"I believe the SGR, like the Tanzania-Zambia Railway, has once again tied the Chinese and Africans together," says China's Ambassador to Kenya Liu Xianfa.

Tazara, built in the 1970s by the governments of China, Tanzania and Zambia, is known to the world as the freedom railway that helped Africans gain national independence and liberation. It's also known as the friendship railway that represents the friendship between Chinese and Africans.

Liu says the construction of the SGR project has proceeded smoothly and made remarkable achievements since work started in December 2014.

"The land acquisition is almost complete, with 99.8 percent of the total length available for construction and 68 percent of the overall work having been completed," he says.

The ambassador adds that local content equivalent to over $650 million had been implemented by the end of April, accounting for 73 percent of the planned amount.

According to the contract signed between Kenya and the builder, China Roads and Bridge Corp, the venture should source for at least 40 percent of its raw materials from Kenyan firms.

"This is a good lesson for African countries that they should try as much as possible to source available materials locally. This is in addition to involving professionalism in infrastructure projects," says Zimbabwe Ambassador to Kenya Kelebert Nkomoni.

The cooperation between China and Kenya in the SGR project is commendable and should be emulated by other African countries, Nkomoni says. He says it's only through such an approach that a project becomes internalized by the beneficiaries.

"There is a lot that my country can learn from the ongoing SGR project. The government of China should know that the quality work as well as the impact of the project to the local communities and the entire economy is appreciated not only by Kenyans but Africa at large," notes Nkomoni.

Kwame Tenkorang, the Ghana high commissioner to Kenya and permanent representative to UNON, says SGR is an eye-opener for African countries. "When Ghana starts constructing an SGR, I hope it will use Kenya's as a benchmark," he says.

He says Ghana is doing consultations on construction of the railway line with expectations to have conclusions within a year.

"If China gives us an offer that meets our expectation, we will award them the tender. China is constructing a major gas processing plant in the country, so we are familiar with their good-quality work," says Tenkorang.

Jeremiah Kianga, chairman of Kenya Railways, says Kenya has learned a lot from its cooperation with China. "Kenya has created a strong bond while working with the Chinese government and specifically China Roads and Bridge Corp," he says.

When the project was commissioned, Kianga says it was projected to take 60 months, but CRBC has done it within 30 months and it will be delivered ahead of schedule.

The project has so far created over 38,000 jobs for Kenyans and trained 20,000 technicians. CRBC has organized over 200 social welfare activities along the railway, including drilling wells for local residents. This is in addition to making donations to local schools, road repairs, and wildlife and environment protection, directly benefiting over 12,000 Kenyans.

According to Liu, the relationship between China and Africa is poised to grow further, noting that both countries are at a crucial stage of development.

"In this new era, China and Africa face golden opportunities. Our development is highly compatible. We each have distinct advantages and we need each other for our cooperative development," he adds.

edithmutethya@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Africa Weekly 08/19/2016 page28)