The race to be the gateway to Eastern and Central Africa heats up
Competition to link the Great Lakes to the sea is good, but there is a risk of overcapacity and debt overhangs
I: Gateway to the Great Lakes
Kenya and Tanzania are locked in a tight race to be the gateway to Eastern and Central Africa. Their target landlocked countries (Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda) and region (Eastern DRC) comprise an economic catchment area with a population of more than 200m (and growing) and a combined GDP of more than $250b.
Through the Northern Corridor, Kenya’s aim is to be the logistical hub of the wider region. Plans include road and rail links from coastal ports in Mombasa and Lamu to Ethiopia, South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Eastern DRC, and Northern Tanzania. Tanzania’s Central Corridor ambitions include new road and rail links to coastal ports in Dar es Salaam, Tanga, and a planned new Bagamoyo port.
Two recent developments underscore the stakes in this competition. First, Tanzania signed a $2.2b deal with China to extend its new SGR line from Tabora to Kigoma (on Lake Tanganyika), effectively granting both Burundi and the DRC a direct rail …