African politics meets Chinese engineers: The Chinese-built Standard Gauge Railway Project in Kenya and East Africa

This paper by Uwe Wissenbach and Yuan Wang examines the way local Kenyan politics have affected implementation of the Standard Gauge Railway. The paper also points to initial and immediate development opportunities for local content, jobs, and skills while arguing for a more rigorous assessment of the SGR’s economic development potential. Unless Kenya overhauls its governance framework on the issues outlined in this paper, infrastructure projects risk overshooting initial budgets and reducing the willingness of neighboring countries or foreign investors to engage in future initiatives in Kenya. Download Working Paper (PDF) »

Deborah Brautigam © 2017

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