Kenya’s New Lunatic Express: The Standard Gauge Railway
Date
2020-10
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Abstract
Abstract: The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) aims to integrate Africa into an ambitious
Chinese-constructed infrastructure network that seeks to link the economies of
participating countries to that of China’s. However, serious concerns about its cost for
the host countries, the legacy and sustainability—alongside the social and
environmental costs—of its projects have raised questions as to its value and long-term
future. The Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), linking Mombasa to Nairobi and beyond
has been portrayed as a centre piece of the BRI in East Africa. Both the Chinese and
Kenyan governments have represented the SGR as an example par excellence of Sino-
African cooperation and the ubiquitous “win-win” partnerships that this is said to
engender. However, serious issues with the SGR in terms of its cost, viability and
practicality has meant that it is increasingly being seen within Kenya as an expensive
white elephant beset with numerous intractable problems.
Description
CITATION:Taylor, I. 2020, "Kenya's New Lunatic Express: The Standard Gauge Railway", African Studies Quarterly, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 29-52.
The original publication is available: http://www.africa.ufl.edu/asq/v19/v19i3-4a3.pdf
The original publication is available: http://www.africa.ufl.edu/asq/v19/v19i3-4a3.pdf
Keywords
Standard Gauge Railway, Kenya, New Lunatic Express