RVR Equity

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The Project would invest in Africa Railways Limited (“ARL”), a holding company established to hold a controlling stake in Rift Valley Railways (“RVR”). RVR is the operator of the Kenya-Uganda railway line which was privatized under two substantially identical 25-year concessions in 2006. IFC’s Corporate Advisory Services acted as a financial advisor to the Government of Kenya for the 2006 privatization and, at that time, IFC made available an A Loan of $22 million and C Loan of $10 million (project #24766). Given the long distances involved (530 km from Mombasa to Nairobi and 803 km from there to Kampala), this should have a significant cost advantage over trucks. However, following decades of under-investment the network is in poor condition. The Project is part of a larger restructuring and investment program to put the railway back onto a sustainable footing with the goal of increasing cargo volumes from about 1.6 million tons currently to over 5.0 million tons by 2020.