President Uhuru Kenyatta launching the upgraded depot in Nairobi's Embakasi. [Photo/PSCU]

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President Uhuru Kenyatta has said the SGR freight train will reduce the cost of doing business across the East African region.

Speaking on Saturday during the launch of the upgraded depot at Embakasi in Nairobi, the president said the second phase of the SGR will be linked to the depot, connecting Nairobi with the East African region via rail, boosting efforts to improve the movement and management of cargo across the country and into the region.

“The high speed, high capacity, and efficient Standard Gauge Railway network will serve as an important link between the Port of Mombasa and the Inland Container Depot,” the President said.

He added, “For instance, it currently costs $1,200 to ship a 20-tonne container from Japan to the Port of Mombasa. Yet it costs $2,500 to move a similar container to Kampala and as much as $4,500 to Kigali. With the SGR we can expect to cut costs significantly,” President Kenyatta said.

He thanked the Government of the People’s Republic of China for supporting the inland container depot project and other transformative projects.