Uganda signs deal with Turkish company to build 272-km railway

KAMPALA, Uganda

Uganda and a Turkish company signed a deal on Monday to construct a 272-kilometer railway, marking a significant step toward improving transportation infrastructure in East Africa.

The railway, designed to enhance both speed and cargo capacity, is expected to strengthen Uganda’s links to regional trade routes, including the Indian Ocean seaport of Mombasa.

The agreement was signed in Kampala by Uganda’s Works Ministry Permanent Secretary Bageya Waiswa and Yapi Merkezi Holdings Vice Chairman Erdem Arioglu. Uganda’s Minister of Works and Transport, Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala, and Turkish Ambassador Fatih Ak were among the officials present.

Bageya highlighted that the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project will help reduce transportation costs and facilitate trade across the region. The new railway, which will stretch from the Malaba border post with Kenya to Uganda’s capital, Kampala, is expected to provide faster, more efficient cargo transport than the current meter-gauge system, which has a narrower track width of 1,000 mm compared to the SGR’s 1,420-1,460 mm gauge.

Initially, China Harbour Engineering Company was contracted to build the railway but, after eight years of delays, Uganda turned to Yapi Merkezi to get the project underway.

Turkish Ambassador Ak emphasized Türkiye’s commitment to sharing its railway expertise to help modernize Uganda’s rail network. The Turkish construction firm Polat Yol Yapi is also active in Uganda, working on the Muyembe-Nakapiripirit road project, which will connect Uganda to Kenya, South Sudan, and Ethiopia.

Speaking to Anadolu, Uganda’s honorary consul to Istanbul, Levent Davisoglu, stressed Uganda’s strategic role as a connector in the East African region.