A China-funded railway linking Kenya's capital Nairobi and the key port of Mombasa will start its trial run on May 31, said an executive at China Communications Construction Co (CCCC).
The launch date is a few days earlier than previously reported.
The 480-kilometer standard gauge railway will have the capacity to handle 25 million tons of cargo a year.
The railway, handling both passengers and cargo traffic, will travel at 120 kilometers per hour, or several times the current speed of average trains in Africa.
The railway cost 3.6 billion U.S. dollars to build, and it was funded by Chinese institutions.
Explaining why the deal was denominated in U.S. dollars, Sun Liqiang, vice president of China Road and Bridge Corp, told the Global Times Thursday that signing a yuan-denominated deal was a goal for CCCC.
"There were no currency swap agreements between the two governments when the deal was signed," Sun said.
China Road and Bridge Corp is a subsidiary of State-owned conglomerate CCCC.
Sun said that Chinese builders are considering an east-west railway linking Africa's coasts, and a north-south artery.
(Source: Global Times)
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