The sixth summit on Northern Corridor Integration Projects opens in Kigali today, with an experts meeting to assess the implementation of the projects. According to Monique Mukaruliza, the national coordinator of the Northern Corridor Projects, the technical teams will assess the projects and forward recommendations to the council of ministers on Wednesday, who will in turn submit them to the heads of state Summit on Thursday. Some of the projects to be assessed include the standard gauge railway that will connect Kigali to Mombasa port through Uganda.
Other projects that will be discussed by the experts include the construction of a regional oil pipeline that will connect Kigali to Eldoret via Kampala, a regional power project, and fast tracking political federation. The summit is expected to be attended by Jin-Yong Cai, the chief executive of International Finance Corporation, an institution affiliated to the World Bank and offers investment, advisory and asset management services to encourage private sector development in developing countries. Jin-Yong is expected to make some commitments on the financing of the regional oil pipeline as well as the Mombasa–Kigali standard gauge railway line that is estimated to cost about $13.5 billion. Besides Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya, and Burundi and South Sudan, the meeting will also have Tanzania and Ethiopia attend as observers.
http://www.newtimes.co.rw/news/index.php?i=15769&a=77988
