(Posted 13th October 2026)
It was learned earlier today that the preliminary work scope for the new Standard Gauge Railway, aka SGR, between the Kenyan border in Malaba to Kampala, is nearing completion. This will pave the way for the start of main construction works, even though the required land acquisition has not yet been fully completed.
In a recent update on its Twitter account has SGR Uganda said that land acquisition had reached about 70 per cent. It also reported progress at the Iganga construction camp, where the government committed €75 million to establish facilities that will support railway construction.
These include a sleeper factory, a concrete batching plant, workers’ camps, a materials laboratory and a storage yard. Railway sleepers support the rails, while the batching plant will produce concrete for construction.
The early works fall under a Limited Notice to Proceed, which allows the contractor to undertake preparatory activities before the main construction phase.
Uganda signed a €2.7 billion construction contract with Turkish firm Yapi Merkezi on the 14th of October 2024. The planned 272-kilometre Malaba–Kampala railway forms the first phase of a wider national SGR network. President Yoweri Museveni launched the project in Tororo on the 21st of November 2024.
The railway is intended to strengthen Uganda’s trade links with Kenya and improve access to the port of Mombasa. Its regional ambitions depend on connecting railway sections on both sides of the border. Added routes into the African hinterland such as South Sudan, Eastern Congo and Rwanda are also under consideration.
