Private businesses have been allowed by the government to extend the Standard Gauge Railway line to their premises.
The move is aimed at facilitating easier movement of bulky and heavy goods from the Mombasa port’s conventional cargo berths to their premises.
Kenya Railway Corporation Senior Permanent Way Officer David Arika said some investors have already received approval to construct an extension of the SGR.
Grain Bulk Handlers Ltd (GBHL) has been approved by the government to construct an extension of the SGR line to its facility at Shimanzi in Mombasa.
According to Mr Arika, construction of a second grain bulk handling terminal at the port has been approved by the government.
“The government has allowed private investors an opportunity to extend the SGR line from the conventional cargo berths in a partnership after they expressed interest to handle bulk cargo.”
“The two port relief lines are designed to load and evacuate containerised and bulk cargo. Port relief line covers 2.1km while line two, complete with a 700-metre bridge at Kipevu, measures 2.8km.”
“The relief line to the conventional cargo berth is now ready for use after undergoing test runs. We can deploy two trains moving cargo to the Nairobi South station,” said Arika as quoted by standardmedia.
The government had announced plans to build a 2 kilometre SGR line linking the SGR Miriti passenger train terminus to the Central Mombasa train station with the aim of faster movement of passengers between the two locations.
The government has also signed a new agreement with the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBR) to extend the Mombasa-Nairobi SGR line to Naivasha.