Sliding Currency Push Up Kenyan Payments for Chinese Railway

File image of Kenya's Standard Gauge Railway that China financed and built as part of the Belt and Road Initiative. Simon Mania/AFP

Kenyan tax payers will have to cough up $87 million more for a January repayment of a loan for the Chinese-built Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) because of a depreciation on the value of the Kenyan shilling.

According to the World Bank, Kenya is due to pay $536 million for the SGR in January 2024, 14 billion Kenyan shillings ($87 million) more than a year ago, due to a stronger U.S. dollar. The shilling declined 27.36% against the dollar over the last twelve months.

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by Cobus van Staden

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