The Indian government has extended a funding grant through the AfDB’s Indian Fund Trust for the modernisation and development of railways in East Africa.
India has provided US$428,000 of the US$1.8mn project, co-funded with AfDB’s NEPAD-Infrastructure Preparation Project facility.
The East African Community (EAC) project aims to harmonise the regulatory and legal framework surrounding railway construction in the region, and includes the creation of a regional Railway Coordination Unit. It will start this June and end in 2014.
Upon signing the agreement, Venu Rajamony, joint secretary for multilateral institutions in the Indian ministry of finance, said his country’s goal is to build capacity in Africa. “This particular assistance is the first in the railway sector and also the first to a regional community,” he added.
AfDB East Africa Regional Resource Centre director Gabriel Negatu noted that poor transport and communications infrastructure is a constraint for producers, traders and transporters of goods in the EAC region, but that the bank would continue to support regional integration. “Many other partners have expressed strong interest to work with the bank in the implementation of the regional integration strategy paper,” he said.
Last Updated June 14, 2012
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