Monday, November 4, 2019

China in Middle of Feasibility of Kenyan Railroad Infrastructure

Bloomberg published on 17 October 2019 an article titled "The Railroad to Nowhere China Built Has Opened in Kenya" by Eric Ombok. The Elephant then published a lengthy commentary on this project titled "From Game Changer to Railway to Nowhere: The Rise and Fall of Lunatic Line 2.0" by David Ndii, Kenyan economist.

Bloomberg reports the opening of an extension of the China-built Mombasa to Nairobi railway that takes it another 75 miles west of Nairobi to a sleepy trading center called Duka Moja. David Ndii suggest the economics of this extension make no sense and funding from China for the third segment of the railway to Kisumu is in doubt. Ndii questions the viability of the entire project.