The successful launch of the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway demonstrates Chinese quality, Chinese speed, Chinese solutions and the Chinese spirit, Vice-Foreign Minister Zhang Ming says.

Zhang was attending the launch ceremony in Mombasa with the Chinese delegation.

The project is an example of implementing China's policy of sincerity, real results, affinity and good faith in developing relations with African countries, he says.

In an important early outcome of cooperation between China and Africa, the Chinese government proposed further plans to develop an industrial belt along the new line to form an integrated railway, port and industrial park, Zhang says, adding that the railway makes it possible to boost local industrial development and provide support for the independent and sustainable development of the railway.

As the biggest infrastructure project in Kenya and a flagship project of the Kenya Vision 2030 plan, the SGR is an integral part of the railway network in East Africa.

"However, the construction of such large-scale infrastructure requires massive financial input," Zhang says. "To realize sustainable development and produce its due economic and social effect, a supplementary industrial development is a must; otherwise, the project could be a debt risk and financial burden to the Kenyan government without sufficient and steady volume of passengers and cargo."

He says he hopes the Chinese and Kenyan governments will strengthen the construction of the industrial park along the route to boost local industrial development to ensure the sustainable development of the SGR and the economic belt along the route.

With these efforts, a new layout featuring an integrated Mombasa-Nairobi railway, Port of Mombasa and Mombasa Special Economic Zone will take shape, illustrating the production capacity cooperation between China, Kenya and Africa at large.

The launch of the railway makes transportation between the two cities more convenient, reducing the time of travel from more than 10 hours to four hours, and it significantly lowers logistics costs by 10 to 40 percent. It will give impetus to the construction of a regional logistics center and manufacturing center in Kenya.

The management of the project and the localization of operations of the SGR are crucial to the economic viability of the project, the vice-minister says.

"On one hand, the launch of the SGR gives impetus to Kenyan economic growth," he says. "On the other, it is a major breakthrough for Chinese companies, Chinese standards and the Chinese operation and management in the 'going abroad' strategy."

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(China Daily European Weekly 06/02/2017 page16)