From: jock@soccer.com   
      
   On Mon, 12 May 2014 21:17:51 +0200, Marc Van Dyck   
    wrote:   
      
   >Sancho Panza laid this down on his screen :   
   >> Nairobi (AFP) - China on Sunday signed a deal to build a $3.8 billion rail   
   >> link between Kenya's Indian Ocean port of Mombasa and Nairobi, the first   
   >> stage of a line that will eventually link Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South   
   >> Sudan.   
   >>   
   >> Under the terms of the agreement, Exim Bank of China will provide 90 percent   
   >> of the cost to replace the crumbling British colonial-era line with a 609.3   
   >> kilometre (379 mile) standard-gauge link and Kenya the remaining 10 percent.   
   >>   
   >> Construction is due to start in October and take three-and-a-half years to   
   >> complete, with China Communications Construction Co. as the main contractor.   
   >> Once the Mombasa-Nairobi line is completed, construction would begin to link   
   >> east Africa's largest economy with Kampala, Kigali, Bujumbura and Juba.   
   >>   
   >> The deal was signed at State House in Nairobi and witnessed by presidents   
   >> Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, Paul Kagame of Rwanda   
   and   
   >> Salva Kiir of South Sudan.   
   >>   
   >> "This project demonstrates that there is equal cooperation and mutual   
   benefit   
   >> between China and the East African countries, and the railway is a very   
   >> important part of transport infrastructure development," Chinese Premier Li   
   >> Keqiang said.   
   >> --http://news.yahoo.com/china-signs-mega-east-africa-rail-dea   
   -134536400.html;_ylt=AwrSyCSolW9TNFAAfNHQtDMD   
   >>   
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   >   
   >I suppose the Chinese are still seriously after east african raw   
   >materials.   
   >   
   >Remember that Chinese funds are also behind the TAZARA rail line   
   >that connect Tanzania and Zambia, also in East Africa.   
   >   
   >On the other hand, given that the whole east african network is in   
   >UK metric gauge, building this line on UIC gauge is really a mistake   
   >in my opinion. This will remove all possible "network effets", which   
   >is a shame, given that this link to Sudan is the last missing part in   
   >the mythic "Cape to Cairo" rail line...   
      
   Not quite the last: in theory, Sudanese tracks extend to Wadi Halfa   
   but there's a gap before Egypt's network can be accessed at Aswan.   
      
   I say in theory because Sudan's ralways are reported to be in disarray   
   and disrepair... not to mention the political squabbling verging on   
   civil war in South Sudan and its testy relationship with (north)   
   Sudan.   
      
      
      
      
      
   Dunno where the journalists got the info that Sudan's network would be   
   the largest in Africa.  Wonkypedia suggests South Africa's totals   
   ~20,000 km.   
      
   --- SoupGate/W32 v1.03   
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