China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and its role in developing Africa’s economies. Case study: Kenya’s Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), Kenya
Authors: Ali Keya Anami  
Published: January 2024

The main purpose of this paper is to study the potential economic benefits of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to Africa’s economies with case study of Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project in Kenya. China has become an important factor in African development. Through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), it is reorganizing the geographical and political space in the Africa, first, by heavily investing in regional connectivity projects, and second, by promoting alternative ideas and concepts of development favourable to a Chinese-centric order in the region. The paper also argues that the BRI is actively shaping a new spatial order in Africa by influencing key stakeholders’ perspectives and preferences. China’s particular visions of global and regional development through the BRI are gaining traction in Africa, making it an indispensable actor with considerable political and economic influence – and thereby challenging the role of traditional development partners in the global south region. China’s engagement with Kenya is a good example of how Beijing approaches economic diplomacy in Africa. Moreover, it’s a revealing case study of how BRI works on the continent. Kenya needs better infrastructure to meet its development needs, and China has been willing to help. The project to upgrade the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) is China’s flagship investment project in Kenya. The SGR connects Mombasa, the largest port city in Kenya, to its capital, Nairobi. The Export-Import Bank of China financed 90 percent of the SGR project, while the Kenyan Government contributed the other 10 percent. The China Road and Bridge Corporation led the SGR installation process. This was supposed to signal a contribution to Kenya’s developmental goals and directly spur growth in the construction sector. The Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) is a mega project that the Kenyan Government has invested in after freedom from the colonial rule. The SGR created around 30,000 new jobs for locals and, in the first year, transported 5.4 million passengers and 1.3 million twenty-foot equivalent units (known as TEUs) of shipments across Kenya. If this performance had continued African exports would have increased significantly. The chief economist in the State Department of Infrastructure in the Kenyan Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure claimed that the SGR would increase trade and investment and further employment opportunities to enhance the people’s livelihoods in the East African Community. The paper will analyze how the BRI through SGR has enhanced economy and trade for Africa with a case study of Kenya, how the SGR has reduced unemployment, how the SGR has enhanced both the social aspects and environmental conservation in Kenya. This paper will also reveal that the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) and BRI have massive economic value to Africa and beyond and are crucial to development. The study recommends the completion of the remaining SGR phases in Kenya in the projected time frame for the railway industry to play a positive role in national and continental development.