Kenya launches new railway to reach South Sudan and Burundi

 

Kenya has formally launched a new, Chinese-financed railway which should extend across East Africa to reach South Sudan, DR Congo and Burundi

 

The first section will link the Kenyan port of Mombasa to the capital, Nairobi, reducing the journey time from 15 hours to about4 hours

It is said to be the country's biggest infrastructure project since independence 50 years ago.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping agreed the deal in August 2013 in Beijing,china and the contract was given to the Chinese state-owned China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC)

The cost of the railway will be $5.2bn (£3.2bn) - mostly funded by China