Category: Infrastructure

Hi Eric, Just caught this statement [in your September 28 column "China Faces a Critical Test": "And let’s not forget that, should Kenya Railways default on the Nairobi-to-Mombasa SGR loan, there's always the Port of Mombasa that serves as collateral"] ...

A video of an unnamed Tanzanian official mocking Kenya for borrowing so much money from China to build the Standard Gauge Railway went viral in East Africa this week. "I do not want to mention ...

President Ali Mohamed Shein inaugured Zanzibar's new $129 million international terminal III, which was Chinese-funded and built. The hope is that this new facility will spur tourism that will generate the funds to repay the loans. Completion of ...

The Chinese-financed and built Standard Gauge Railway is losing money at an unsustainable rate of $9.2 million per month prompting renewed calls in parliament for the State House to renegotiate the $3.2 billion of loans used to construct the Nairobi to Mombasa ...

Kenya's difficulties in servicing its debts for the newly-built, Chinese-financed Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) is nearing a breaking point. Even before the COVID-19 outbreak, the railway failed to meet passenger and cargo volume targets and now the economic downturn brought on by the ...

Aminu Wali, 79, is long retired from a distinguished diplomatic career as Nigeria's envoy to China, the United Nations and a stint as the country's foreign minister. In a wide-ranging interview with the Premium Times newspaper, Wali reflected on the current state of ties with China and ...

Say what you want about the Chinese but there's no denying they are damned good at getting stuff done. The sight of a big beautiful new train on freshly laid tracks in Lagos yesterday was something to ...

Nigerians got their first look yesterday at the brand new Lagos to Ibadan standard gauge railway, as it conducted its first live test run. This new standard gauge railway is one of eleven transportation projects that Chinese lenders are financing in ...

President Muhammadu Buhari finally weighed on the debate currently raging in Nigeria over the government's decision to borrow billions of dollars, including from China, to build badly-needed infrastructure. “We have so many challenges with infrastructure. We just have to take loans ...

Given China's extensive involvement in building transportation infrastructure in Kenya, it's not surprising that Chief Secretary James Macharia was high on the list of key cabinet stakeholders to meet, as the newly-arrived Chinese ambassador, Zhou Pingjiang, settles into his new role. ...

For some additional context about Chinese energy engagement in Africa, particularly in the hydroelectric sector where the role of various Chinese stakeholders is often overstated and exaggerated, it's worthwhile to refer back to a paper written in 2017 by China-Africa Research Initiative Director Deborah Brautigam and Ohio State ...

A Chinese state-owned company will take control of the power grid in Laos, one of Asia's poorest countries, in a deal to stave off default of its multi-billion-dollar debts to China. The two sides reached an agreement last week for Electricite du ...