M a r k e t N e w s
Qalaa Invests in East Africa Cargo as China Builds Rail Link
Posted on : Thursday , 22nd January 2015
Egyptian private-equity company Qalaa Holdings SAE is investing $70 million to accelerate the movement of rail cargo carried from East Africa’s busiest port, as it faces competition from a new Chinese-backed link.
Qalaa controls Rift Valley Railways Ltd., the operator of a railway built almost a century ago running from Kenya’s Mombasa port to neighboring Uganda.
It covers a portion of the same route as a new rail line under construction from Mombasa, designed to speed up freight transit times, cut transport costs and boost mining and agricultural exports. It isn’t yet clear who will operate the second railway.
Qalaa “is investing heavily in a new subsidiary, which will complement RVR by handling cargo at the port of Mombasa in Kenya,” Karim Sadek, managing director of the company’s transportation division, said in an interview from Nairobi.
Source : http://www.businessweek.com/news/2015-01-19/qalaa-invests-in-east-africa-freight-as-china-develops-rail-link
