Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen is currently in Beijing, China for infrastructural development projects.
The CS met his counterpart, Li Xiaopeng, and said their discussions were centred on strengthening Kenya and China's bilateral development cooperation.
Including the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries with 60 years of diplomatic relations.
Murkomen added that with the partnerships, there are hopes to complete the ongoing road projects in Kenya.
He also said the country seeks to achieve the extension of the Standard Guage Railway (SGR) to Malaba, dualling of main highways and expanding Kenyan ports, not forgetting airports’ infrastructure.
"We hope to equip our Technical and Vocational Institutions, build water dams, and implement our smart and intelligent traffic systems among others," he said.
The CS said the two ministers' meeting precedes President William Ruto’s visit to China to meet with his counterpart President Xi Jinping.
"I was also honoured at the invitation of my counterpart to attend and address the 2023 Global Sustainable Transport Forum where I underscored the importance of global partnerships in the development of sustainable and climate-resilient transport infrastructure including the opportunities available in Kenya for public-private Partnerships (PPP)"
Murkomen's trip comes two months after Kenya and Uganda jointly signed a communique on the financing and development of the Naivasha-Kisumu-Malaba Standard Gauge Railway and the Malaba-Kampala SGR.
The government plans to spend Sh2.1 trillion on the extension of the railway line from Suswa to Malaba and a separate line to Isiolo, projects expected to be completed in 2027.
According to the communique, the project will be implemented in their respective countries.
“The commercial contracts for Naivasha-Kisumu and Kisumu-Malaba SGR section in Kenya have been signed while the commercial contract for Malaba-Kampala SGR section in Uganda will be signed soon and the two governments are in the process of mobilising the financing for construction,” a joint communique by the ministers reads.
The planned rail projects by Kenya will add 2,746 kilometres to the SGR, increasing the overall expenditure on the modern railway project to over $19.4 billion (Sh2.7 trillion).
While Kenya has already signed commercial contracts for its portion of the SGR sections, Uganda is on track to soon finalise the contract for the Malaba-Kampala section.
Kenya's first phase of SGR, was worth $3.2 billion (Sh360 billion); (Sh453.3 billion at the current exchange rate) and was a loan secured by the government from the Exim Bank of China in May 2014.
