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A weekly development news platform published by UrgeDevWire, produced by Urge Communications. Covering Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and the wider East African region.

Urge Development Brief Desk | East Africa. Urge- DevWire

BRAZZAVILLE — Late May 2026

The African Development Bank has tentatively allocated approximately 650 million dollars to partially fund the construction of a standard gauge railway linking Kampala to Malaba on the Kenyan border, Uganda's Finance Ministry disclosed following meetings at the Bank's annual meetings in Brazzaville. Abdul Kamara, the Bank's Vice President in charge of regional development, integration, and business delivery, announced the pledge at a meeting with a Ugandan delegation. The final project financing arrangement is to be concluded during a mission appraisal.

The Kampala to Malaba standard gauge railway is part of Uganda's broader standard gauge railway strategy, which also encompasses connections to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. The line would link with Kenya's standard gauge railway network and provide a continuous standard gauge corridor from the Port of Mombasa to Kampala. Uganda's Finance Minister Henry Musasizi had earlier, at the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings 2026 in April, specifically requested the Bank's support for the standard gauge railway alongside the Uganda Tanzania Transmission Line project and additional financing for the North Eastern Road Asset Management Project. Uganda's economy grew at 6.3 percent as of mid-2026, with the country projected to grow at between 7 and 7.5 percent for the full year.

Source: Bloomberg, 31 May 2026, citing Uganda Finance Ministry statement; Nile Post, 16 April 2026.

AfDB Approves 650 Million Dollars for Uganda's Kampala to Malaba Standard Gauge Railway

Dev-News | UrgeDevWire | East Africa