The OPEC Fund for International Development has started appraising a €150 million loan for Uganda’s standard gauge railway from Malaba, on the Kenyan border, to Kampala, and aims for board approval by 30 November. It would be the fund’s largest commitment to Uganda since 1976 and follows €650 million approved by the Islamic Development Bank in June. The line costs €2.7 billion (about $3 billion): export credit agencies are to cover about 60%, development lenders 25% and the government 15% through a sukuk, an Islamic bond, before financial close planned for January 2027. The railway is meant to halve freight costs to about $0.07 per tonne-kilometre and cut transit from 8.5 days to one, lowering trade costs for landlocked Uganda.
Sources
- Monitor: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/opec-fund-targets-shs697b-boost-for-sgr-project-5638092
- Nile Post: https://nilepost.co.ug/businesses/379810/opec-fund-targets-november-approval-for-shs697bn-uganda-sgr-financing
- Uganda Business News: https://ugbusiness.com/2026/10/economy/infrastructure/opec-fund-appraises-e150mn-loan-for-uganda-railway
- The EastAfrican via Zawya (cost in USD, June 2026): https://www.zawya.com/en/economy/africa/uganda-locks-funds-for-joint-sgr-as-kenya-plan-stalls-ur5u2mrz