How does Kenya’s new railway compare with Ethiopia’s?

The first major new railway line in Kenya for more than a century, running between the capital, Nairobi, and the coastal city of Mombasa, faces an immediate challenge of justifying its relatively high cost, reports the BBC’s Nancy Kacungira.

This is Kenya’s biggest infrastructure investment since independence in 1963

At $5.6m per kilometre for the track alone, Kenya’s line cost close to three times the international standard and four times the original estimate.
AFP

Cost comparisons have been made between this line and Ethiopia’s 756km Addis Ababa-Djibouti line launched last year.

Both are Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) projects financed by Chinese loans, costing $3.4bn (£2.6bn) for Ethiopia and $3.2bn for Kenya.

Ethiopia’s line is more than 250km longer and is electrified, which is typically more expensive; trains running on Kenya’s line will be diesel-powered.

The Kenyan government has said the reasons for this high cost include the terrain that required many bridges and tunnels, land compensation and a need for specifications that would handle greater cargo volumes than Ethiopia’s line.

Therefore, it says, the two projects are not directly comparable.