In light of the government’s plan to build Standard Gauge Railways (SGR) from Nakuru to Kisumu, Kisumu County Governor Anyang Nyong’o has forecast a thriving lake transportation scene.
Business opportunities in the area will be created, according to Nyong’o, by Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen’s announcement of SGR’s extension to the lakeside city.
Once the extension is finished, he claims, transportation in Lake Victoria, which previously depended on SGR, will resume.
“This is good news because the project will greatly improve transport services between Kisumu and Uganda besides supporting both ordinary travels and businesses,” said Nyong’o.
The Governor noted that the refurbished Kisumu Port will now be vibrant as trains will deliver goods for onward transmission to the neighboring countries through lake transport.
“The needed expansion of transport between the Lake Region and the rest of Kenya has awaited the arrival of the SGR for a long time. We hope all will be done to expedite this project,” he added.
In a press statement released to the media on Tuesday, Nyong’o says once completed the GR will help spur economic growth in Western Kenya and open up the Western Kenya Tourism Circuit, which is blessed with many tourist destinations.
He noted that it was encouraging to hear CS Mukromen announce that the government was aiming to do 35 percent of the project by December this year.
Initially, the SGR was to run from Mombasa to Kisumu, however, the project started by former President Uhuru Kenyatta stalled in Nakuru due to inadequate funding.
Murkomen was quoted over the weekend in a statement affirming the government’s commitment to complete the extension as earlier envisioned.
The first phase of the SGR, from Mombasa to Naivasha, was funded by the Chinese Government to the tune of Sh350 billion.
