Kenya denies media accusations that it has failed to reimburse China for the multi-billion-dollar railway line from Nairobi to Mombasa.
According to Treasury records seen by Business Daily, Kenya’s English daily, China imposed a $10m (£8.9m) penalty after Kenya defaulted on a $4.5bn loan for building the 472km (293 mile) railway line.
Kenya’s biggest infrastructure project, the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), generates insufficient revenue to cover operational costs and repay China’s massive loans. In 2020–2021, the SGR made 15 billion Kenya shillings ($123.9 million) against an operational cost of 18.5 billion ($152.8 million), according to the government.
Kenya has taken massive loans from China since 2014 to build its infrastructure projects, including highways, clean power plants, and the Standard Gauge Railway. The Central Bank of Kenya reported $36.4 billion in external debt in June.