Project ishafeli
Kenya asks China to fully fund Sh581.6bn Malaba SGR extension amid fiscal strain
By
Lucy Mumbi | May 25, 2025
Kenya now wants China to cover the entire Sh581.6 billion cost of extending the SGR from Naivasha to Malaba. (Photo: Kenya Railways)
Kenya now wants China to take on the full cost of extending the standard gauge railway (SGR) from Naivasha to Malaba, abandoning an earlier plan that required Nairobi to raise 30 per cent or Sh174 billion of the Sh581.6 billion project.
According to the National Treasury, the government is under fiscal constraints that have made it difficult for the country to contribute to the mega infrastructure project. National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi said Kenya is no longer in a position to meet the 30 per cent financing requirement due to growing expenditure and limited revenue.
“The proposal put forward by China Road and Bridge, the China Development Bank and China Exim Bank was that the three entities would fund 30 per cent of the project, the Kenyan government would raise 30 per cent, and then a consortium would do the remaining 40 per cent,” Mbadi told the
Nation.