Written by Elias Biryabarema | From Reuters

Uganda is hoping to secure an $8 billion loan from China to build a railway network to revamp the country’s transport infrastructure as it prepares to start oil production.

As in other areas of Sub-Saharan Africa, China has become a major investor in Uganda. It has mostly channeled funds into roads, hydro power dams, fiber optic cable networks and other infrastructure, usually offering cheap loans.

“This is a huge project and we’ll need cheap money and I don’t think we can get it from anywhere else,” Keith Muhakanizi, permanent secretary, ministry of finance, told Reuters on Thursday.

“We hope China will agree to fund the railway project … negotiations will start soon.”

Uganda signed a memorandum of understanding with China Harbor Engineering Corporation (CHEC) in late August to start a feasibility study on the new project.

East African leaders and China formally signed agreements in May related to the construction of a new multi-billion dollar, standard gauge railway to run from the Kenyan port of Mombasa to Nairobi and on to neighboring states, including Uganda.

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