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China assists Kenya to become regional railway training hub

Xinhua, March 28, 2016 Adjust font size:

China will assist Kenya to become the regional training hub for railway professionals in east and central Africa, a government official said on Monday.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Irungu Nyakera told media in Nairobi that the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) will provide a grant of 10 million U.S. dollars to upgrade Kenya's Railway Training Institute (RTI).

"The railway institute will serve as a training centre for railway professionals in countries around the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) cluster including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo," Nyakera said on Monday.

The funds from CRBC will be used to construct a new tower that will serve as the regional training hub.

"The final design has been done and will now be taken to the RTI board for approval. Construction of the new tower will take one year to complete," Nyakera said.

Already ten lecturers from RTI are in China to receive training on railway engineering, and another 40 lecturers are expected to go in the coming months to China for similar trainings, according to Nyakera.

CRBC is currently constructing the Standard Gauge Railway that will run from the port city of Mombasa to Nairobi then to the country's western border town of Malaba.

Kenya is also holding talks with China over partnerships between their respective universities in the area of engineering.

"In Kenya, University of Nairobi and Kenyatta University will collaborate with Chinese universities in improving the engineering skills in Kenya," Nyakera said.

Under the agreements, Kenya lecturers will receive trainings in Chinese universities on how to beef up their degree programs in engineering courses. Enditem