East African Railway Master Plan (06089)

Client: East African Community

Detailed description of project:

CPCS advised the East African Community (EAC) on the development of a Railway Master Plan for the region. The EAC is the regional intergovernmental organization for Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, and Rwanda with its Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. With a vision to create a prosperous, competitive, secure and politically united East Africa, the EAC carries a mission to widen and deepen economic, political, cultural, and social integration in order to improve the quality of life of the people of East Africa. The development of the Railway Master Plan is one of the strategic interventions for the region’s railway sub-sector set out in the EAC Development Strategy.

CPCS provided a range of services to the EAC in this assignment including financial and economic analysis of railway options, traffic studies, review of legal and regulatory implications, and environmental and social analysis.

CPCS worked to complete the following key project tasks:

• Evaluated the current and potential demand for railway infrastructure and services in line with the objectives of the EAC Development strategy, in order to become more competitive through reduction of transport and transactional costs.
• Reviewed the current railway capacity and planned improvements and established the gap between this capacity and the requisite railway infrastructure and services needed to cater for future demand.
• Proposed a railway development strategy and action plan (Master Plan) to close the gap and develop the required level of infrastructure and services needed to make a maximum contribution in facilitating and catalyzing more robust regional trade and economic development.
• Prepared a suitable organizational and institutional structure necessary to implement the Master Plan.

Capacity and consensus building among key stakeholders was an integral part of the assignment throughout the course of the project. To facilitate the realization of the Master Plan, we also set out a financing principles and phasing of the projects, given the massive investment needs.