Uganda taps Citibank for $3.19bn railway funding

Uganda railway financing has moved to Citibank, with the government selecting the bank to arrange funding for a standard gauge railway linking Kampala to the Kenyan border. The scheme is valued at 2.7 billion euros, or about $3.19 billion, according to the government. This is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

Uganda railway financing and project backing

Speaking in Washington, Ramathan Ggoobi, permanent secretary at Uganda’s Finance Ministry, said Citibank would serve as lead arranger and coordinate funding for the rail project, as reported by Reuters. He made the remarks during a meeting of finance ministers from Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda held on the sidelines of the 2026 Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank.

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He also said Uganda had opened talks with the World Bank about support for the scheme. The standard gauge railway Uganda plans to build is expected to improve regional links, lower freight costs and strengthen trade competitiveness.

Contract shift from China Harbour Engineering Company to Yapi Merkezi

The financing move follows the collapse of Uganda’s earlier rail contract, which had depended on Chinese government funding secured through China Harbour Engineering Company. After delays in financing, the government terminated that contract in January 2023.

It later signed a fresh agreement in October 2024 with Turkey’s Yapi Merkezi to construct the Kampala to Malaba rail line on the Kenyan border. Once completed, the route is expected to connect landlocked Uganda to Kenya’s rail system and, through it, to the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa.

Regional rail connectivity in East Africa

In March, Kenyan President William Ruto launched work on the next section of Kenya’s standard gauge railway, according to Railway Supply. The section links Naivasha to Kisumu. Another phase is expected to extend the line to the Ugandan border. Since 2019, Kenya’s SGR has linked Mombasa with Nairobi and onward to Naivasha.

Over the longer term, Uganda and Kenya plan to extend the railway to other landlocked countries, including Rwanda, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. This would create a wider regional network that could boost trade across East and Central Africa.

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