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……..President Kenyatta waves flag to flag off the inaugural cargo train<\/em><\/p>\n

With the unveiling of the new Railway\u2019s cargo operations in Mombasa this morning, Kenyans and over 300 million residents of the region are set to reap the benefits of efficient transportation of cargo.<\/p>\n

President Uhuru Kenyatta\u00a0of Kenya who made a promised to deliver the\u00a0\u00a0launching the Standard Gauge Railway\u00a0(SGR)\u00a0by the first of June 2017, has fulfilled his promised.<\/p>\n

Speaking \u00a0at\u00a0Port Reitz\u00a0in the coastal city of Mombasa, President Kenyatta said the move shows how the country can achieve greater heights if Kenyans can work together with a common purpose.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis indicates what we can achieve if we work together as a nation. The foundation we are laying today is not just for us; it\u2019s for generations to come,\u201d he said. The historic moment is not just for the Jubilee administration but a proud moment for every Kenyan. He called upon all citizens to stand together and remain united in order to make Kenya prosperous.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have invested about $600 million at this Mombasa Port in the last two and a half years. That shows that we mean business, we have continued to invest in making it easier for Kenyans to do business,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The new Chinese-built route is aimed at cementing Kenya\u2019s position as the gateway to East Africa and is billed as the biggest infrastructure project since independence, and a key selling point for the ruling Jubilee party ahead of the August elections.<\/p>\n

Tuesday\u2019s launch precedes the unveiling of the maiden passenger from Mombasa to Nairobi on Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n

On board was President Kenyatta, Cabinet Secretaries and top government officials among others selected to take the maiden trip to the capital city- as well as 47 pupils from all the counties. The project was built at a cost Sh327 billion with 90 percent financed by\u00a0China Exim Bank\u00a0and\u00a0the\u00a0Kenyan Government\u00a0investing the rest.<\/p>\n

Financing of the second phase of the SGR project from Nairobi to Naivasha has already been sourced from\u00a0Chinese Government. The cargo train is expected to carry about 216 containers at a go. It is also set to reduce the cost of moving goods in the country, making Kenya an economic power house in the region.<\/p>\n

According to the Kenya Railways Corporation, freight charges for the containers will be at Sh50,000 per container compared to the current Sh80,000 by the metre gauge railway train and Sh90,000 by road.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a proud moment for the Jubilee administration. We have had many challenges that include the court cases and environmental issues. This showcases a unity of purpose from the Jubilee administration,\u201d said Deputy President William Ruto.<\/p>\n

Others present during the flagging off of the cargo train included First Lady Margaret Kenyatta, Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery, Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia, Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala and Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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            ……..President Kenyatta waves flag to flag off the inaugural cargo train With the unveiling of the new Railway\u2019s cargo operations in Mombasa this morning, Kenyans and over 300 million residents of the region are set to reap the benefits of efficient transportation of cargo. President Uhuru Kenyatta\u00a0of Kenya who…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":581,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[27],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/580"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=580"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/580\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":584,"href":"http:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/580\/revisions\/584"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/moovafrica.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}