Uganda finally signs deal to start building 1,700km railway, dumping China

(Global Construction Review,  London, 15 October 2024) After 9 years of striving, the government of Uganda yesterday signed a contract with Turkish contractor Yapı Merkezi to build the first section of the country’s standard gauge railway. The €2.7bn deal was formalised in the capital Kampala by Bageya Waiswa, the permanent secretary for public works, and Erdem Arıoğlu, the vice chair of Yapı Merkezi. Waiswa said Uganda would use its own funds and loans from the UK’s Standard Chartered bank, backed by export credit guarantees, to finance the project. The deal follows a number of false starts. As far back as 2015, Uganda entered into an agreement with China Harbour, a subsidiary of China Communications, to implement the project, on the condition that Chinese capital would be made available to pay for the work. The reluctance of China’s Export–Import Bank to finance the scheme led Uganda last year to abandon the contract, clearing the way for the Turkish deal.