Turkish engineering firm Yapi Merkezi has secured a $3 billion contract to construct a 272-kilometre railway line linking Kampala to Malaba, situated on Uganda’s border with Kenya, its preferred partner country for port access.
The project marks one of the most significant ventures undertaken by a Turkish construction company abroad.
Perez Wamburu, the co-ordinator of Uganda’s Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project, said the agreement covered the first phase of a planned 1 700 km electric railway, with an estimated cost of €2.7 billion ($3 billion).
The rail link will greatly reduce transport times for imports and exports passing through Kenya’s Port of Mombasa, according to General Katumba Wamala, Uganda’s Minister of Transport and Works.
Construction is set to commence in November, with the entire project expected to take four years to complete.
Once finished, the railway was anticipated to boost trade and lower transportation costs, said Bageya Waiswa, permanent secretary of Uganda’s Works Ministry, during the signing ceremony held in Kampala.
The agreement was signed by Waiswa and Yapi Merkezi vice chairman, Erdem Arıoğlu. Other dignitaries in attendance included Turkish Ambassador Fatih Ak.
Yapi Merkezi said on social media that it was one of the largest projects it had secured overseas.
Uganda plans to finance the construction using both domestic funds and loans from export credit agencies. Ambassador Ak highlighted Türkiye’s commitment to supporting Uganda’s railway modernisation efforts through its engineering expertise.
The contract represents a crucial step in Uganda’s ambitions to enhance regional trade links.
The new railway section will connect Kampala with Kenya’s rail network and extend to the Indian Ocean seaport of Mombasa.
In a prior deal made in 2015 with China Harbour and Engineering Company (CHEC), Uganda had sought to construct the line, but negotiations fell through when China Exim Bank declined to provide the necessary financing. Subsequently, Uganda entered talks with Yapi Merkezi, terminating its agreement with CHEC last year.
Founded in 1965, Yapi Merkezi is the second Turkish firm to win a significant infrastructure project in Uganda, following Polat Yol Yapi’s involvement in constructing the 92-kilometre Muyembe-Nakapiripirit road, which will link Uganda to Kenya, South Sudan, and Ethiopia.
Turkish firms have made notable inroads across Africa, having completed 1 864 projects valued at $85.4 billion by the end of 2023, according to Türkiye’s Foreign Economic Relations Board.
Investments by Turkish companies across the continent exceed $10 billion, providing jobs for over 100 000 Africans.
Türkiye’s relationship with Africa has strengthened under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has cultivated diplomatic and economic ties since taking office.
As a result, Türkiye’s trade volume with Africa has risen significantly, reaching nearly $41 billion by the end of 2022, up from $5.4 billion in 2003. This growing engagement has fostered partnerships focused on infrastructure, economic development, and mutually beneficial cooperation.
