Qalaa eyes phase I completion of East Africa railway in H1-2017

Egypt’s Qalaa Holdings plans to complete the first phase of Rift Valley Railways development project in Uganda and Kenya in the first quarter of 2017, said managing director and Head of Transportation and Logistics Karim Sadek.

The Egyptian leading investment firm will implement the first phase with total cost of US$300 million, Sadek told Amwal Al Ghad on the sidelines of Qalaa’s one-day conference “Rift Valley Railways: An Integrated Logistics Solution in East Africa,” held Wednesday in Cairo.

Sadek further said the first phase is to include upgrading the infrastructure of the railway; the tracks, bridges and carriages, in addition to a training programme and maintenance works.

Qalaa Holdings held Wednesday its conference to introduce Rift Valley Railways (RVR) as a unique door-to-door transportation and customs-clearance service provider that can help local exporters from Egypt, Kenya, Uganda and South Sudan tap into new markets and grow the volume of intra-regional trade.

Sadek revealed that Qalaa spent so far US$126 million on the project since its launch in January 2012. He stressed RVR development project’s importance to facilitate trade movement between Egypt and all the African countries in the coming period.

Moreover, Qalaa’s official said RVR project’s financiers whether in form of granting loans or contributions are; the African Development Bank (AfDB), the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ), the World Bank Group, and the Dutch development agency. Qalaa is the key contributor to the RVR development project.