Post by Onyango Oloo on Oct 17, 2005 20:36:41 GMT 3
Uganda, Kenya Get Railway Investor
The Monitor (Kampala)
October 17, 2005
Posted to the web October 17, 2005
Joseph Olanyo
Kampala
The Rift Valley Railways Consortium (RVRC) has won the right to operate and manage the Uganda-Kenya railways for a period of 25 years.
The agreement was reached by the governments of Kenya and Uganda during a joint session of Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) and Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) held at the Treasury Building in Nairobi on October 14.
This brings to an end the seven-year joint search for a private operator to take over from the cash strapped state corporations in the two countries.
RVRC comprises of Sheltam Rail Company Ltd of South Africa as the lead investor, Comazar Ltd, Primefuels (Kenya) Ltd, Mirambo Holdings Ltd and CDIO Institute for Africa Development Trust.
RVRC's winning proposal included a turnaround and development programme for the two railway systems, expected to lead to a significant increase in freight traffic volumes within the first five years. They were selected on the strength of their financial and technical proposals.
The consortium will pay initial fees of $3 million for Kenya and $2 million for Uganda respectively. They will also pay annual concession fees of 11.1 percent of their gross revenues in each country and $1 million per year for the passenger services concession in Kenya.
"This was the culmination of an exciting process and the dawn of a new era," Mr John Nasasira, the Minister for Works, Housing and Communications, said in a statement sent to Daily Monitor from Nairobi. Kenyan Assistant Minister for Transport, Mr Andrew Ligale, emphasised the high technical quality of the proposal. In particular, he noted that the joint concession would have a substantial positive impact on the national accounts, with the replacement of outflows in the form of government subsidies and inflows in the form of concession fees.
The Minister of State for Privatisation, Prof. Peter Kasenene, expressed gratitude on behalf of both governments to the Joint Steering Committee (JSC). He urged them to ensure that the process is concluded expeditiously.
The struggle for the joint concession of the two railway systems reached its peak on September 30, with two companies; Sheltam Close Corporation of South Africa and Rites Limited of India selected as the final bidders. According to the tentative programme, URC and KRC are expected to sign a joint concession agreement with the winner on November 20.
The Monitor (Kampala)
October 17, 2005
Posted to the web October 17, 2005
Joseph Olanyo
Kampala
The Rift Valley Railways Consortium (RVRC) has won the right to operate and manage the Uganda-Kenya railways for a period of 25 years.
The agreement was reached by the governments of Kenya and Uganda during a joint session of Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) and Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) held at the Treasury Building in Nairobi on October 14.
This brings to an end the seven-year joint search for a private operator to take over from the cash strapped state corporations in the two countries.
RVRC comprises of Sheltam Rail Company Ltd of South Africa as the lead investor, Comazar Ltd, Primefuels (Kenya) Ltd, Mirambo Holdings Ltd and CDIO Institute for Africa Development Trust.
RVRC's winning proposal included a turnaround and development programme for the two railway systems, expected to lead to a significant increase in freight traffic volumes within the first five years. They were selected on the strength of their financial and technical proposals.
The consortium will pay initial fees of $3 million for Kenya and $2 million for Uganda respectively. They will also pay annual concession fees of 11.1 percent of their gross revenues in each country and $1 million per year for the passenger services concession in Kenya.
"This was the culmination of an exciting process and the dawn of a new era," Mr John Nasasira, the Minister for Works, Housing and Communications, said in a statement sent to Daily Monitor from Nairobi. Kenyan Assistant Minister for Transport, Mr Andrew Ligale, emphasised the high technical quality of the proposal. In particular, he noted that the joint concession would have a substantial positive impact on the national accounts, with the replacement of outflows in the form of government subsidies and inflows in the form of concession fees.
The Minister of State for Privatisation, Prof. Peter Kasenene, expressed gratitude on behalf of both governments to the Joint Steering Committee (JSC). He urged them to ensure that the process is concluded expeditiously.
The struggle for the joint concession of the two railway systems reached its peak on September 30, with two companies; Sheltam Close Corporation of South Africa and Rites Limited of India selected as the final bidders. According to the tentative programme, URC and KRC are expected to sign a joint concession agreement with the winner on November 20.