Uganda has appointed Citibank to help mobilise financing for its planned 2.7 billion euro ($3.19 billion) Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project, the government said on Thursday.
The finance ministry said in a post on the X platform that Uganda is “in talks with the World Bank to support the project.”
Earlier this month, the World Bank said it was considering “an array of potential financing options” for the railway. A Ugandan delegation also met Citibank officials in Washington during the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings, including Richard Hodder, managing director and global head export and agency finance “to discuss progress made in mobilising the required financing for the SGR project,” the post said.
The project faced delays after earlier efforts to secure funding from Beijing failed, prompting Uganda in 2024 to hand construction to Turkish firm Yapi Merkezi.
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Preliminary works have begun using limited government funding, but full construction is still on hold pending full financing.
The railway will span 272 kilometres from Kampala to Malaba at the Kenyan border, linking Uganda to Kenya’s rail network and onward to the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa, as seen on Reuters.
Why This Matters
The project highlights Africa’s continued reliance on blended international financing and external lenders for major infrastructure.
It also reflects ongoing shifts in funding sources, with governments diversifying away from single partners toward multiple global institutions and financiers.
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Image Credit: Arise News
