On the SGR, Kenya Is Building Its Future — Not Falling into a “Trap”
The SGR did not arrive as a scheme imposed from abroad. It is a centrepiece of Vision 2030, Kenya’s long-term plan to close historic infrastructure gaps that have constrained growth. Replacing a century-old metre-gauge line that had become a bottleneck was a matter of national ..
✨ Key Highlights
Kenya's Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) is presented as a vital national development project, not a "debt trap" as some international narratives suggest. The project, a cornerstone of Kenya's Vision 2030, aims to bridge infrastructure gaps and boost economic growth.
- The Madaraka Express has transported over 11 million passengers and more than 5.8 million tonnes of cargo since its launch in June 2017.
- The SGR replaced a century-old metre-gauge line, improving transit times from over 48 hours by road to a reliable eight-hour rail journey.
- The Nairobi–Naivasha extension, opened in October 2019, is fostering industrialization in the Rift Valley with the Naivasha Inland Container Depot.
- The project created tens of thousands of jobs and included environmental mitigation efforts, such as 6.5 kilometers of wildlife viaducts in Nairobi National Park.
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Govt Clarifies Details on Mau Summit Highway, SGR, and LAPSSET Projects - October 2025
The Kenyan government assured the public that the Rironi–Nakuru–Mau Summit Highway will remain under full state ownership despite being developed through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP). The Directorate of Public Private Partnerships clarified this model is a financing mechanism to address fiscal constraints. Following public concern over a proposed Ksh8 per kilometer toll, the government revealed that four vehicle categories will be exempted from paying tolls on the highway. Separately, the National Land Commission (NLC) is set to acquire over 960 hectares of community land in Garissa County for the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport (LAPSSET) Corridor project. These projects, along with the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), are presented as vital national developments under Kenya's Vision 2030.
