The government of Uganda has walked out of a USD 2.2 billion contract with China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) to build a Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) track in Uganda and has given it to a Turkish firm Yapi Merkezi , reported TRT world.
The TRT World the national public broadcaster of Turkey further reported quoting SGR Project Coordinator Engineer Perez Wamburu said that they have now signed a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) with a Turkish firm for the same contract.
Wamburu further revealed that Uganda’s Attorney General Kiryowa Kiwanuka had reviewed the project revealing that EXIM China has revoked financing for the CHEC project.
“We read between the lines when China’s Ambassador to Uganda said that after the Covid-19 pandemic, China has become more cautious about financing big infrastructure projects in Africa. We all know that Covid didn’t leave economies of the world the same,” Wamburu told TRT World.
He further said in the TRT World report that EXIM China remained silent on the financing of the project for over a year. After this, the Ugandan government was forced to rethink about bringing in other financiers.
Last year Kenyan officials said they would ask China to extend the repayment period on USD 5 billion worth of loans, with an incoming cabinet minister telling parliament that the debt is “choking” the country’s economy.
China shows the African countries a dream of bringing Beijing’s infrastructure miracle to the continent but in reality, it just increased their expenditure. For example, the railway between Nairobi and Mombasa was financed by Beijing’s USD 5 billion loans.