African diplomats hail construction of Kenya's high-speed railway

African diplomats on Friday hailed the construction of a Standard Gauge Railway in Kenya that is expected to transform the region's economies.

The diplomats had gathered in Nairobi for a training workshop on Sino-Africa relations facilitated by the Chinese Embassy.

"We consider China a dependable ally and the construction of a Standard Gauge Railway has cemented this bond. The Eastern Africa region will be transformed once this project is completed," Stanley Mwangi, an assistant Director at Kenya's Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Xinhua at the construction site of the SGR on the outskirts of Nairobi.

The regional diplomats visited the construction site as part of a familiarization tour with Chinese funded infrastructure projects in Kenya.

China's Exim Bank is providing 90 percent of funding towards construction of the 472 Kilometers long high speed railway linking Nairobi and the port city of Mombasa. It will be extended to neighboring countries during the next phase.

Diplomats from Kenya, Tanzania, Eritrea, Burundi, Ethiopia and Democratic Republic of Congo said a modern railway network will boost regional integration.

"We expect cross border trade and movement of skilled labour to flourish in this region once the Standard Gauge Railway is completed in five years," said Mwangi.

Kenya is a major beneficiary of Chinese funded infrastructure projects like superhighways, rail network and seaports.

The East Africa's largest economy has a cordial relationship with China whose benefits are being felt across socio-economic spheres.

Mwangi noted that Chinese investments in Kenya's infrastructure, manufacturing and mining sectors had ripple effects in the eastern African region.

The visiting diplomats were briefed on the progress of implementing the SGR by officials from China Roads and Bridges Corporation (CRBC).

Sun Liqiang, Project Manager of the CRBC-SGR project in Kenya, said construction works had progressed without a hitch.

"The preparations for the construction of Standard Gauge Railway project have been concluded. We have met conditions to facilitate implementation of this project," Sun Liqiang told Xinhua.

CRBC has so far recruited 8,000 Kenyan employees at different sections in eight counties along the route. Endi