A 753-kilometre electric railway was built to carry a landlocked nation’s trade to the sea. Eight years on, much of that trade still goes by road.
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Beyond the freight line: Kenya’s commuter rail revival rides in the SGR’s shadow
The SGR was sold on cargo. The harder transport problem – moving Nairobi’s commuters – runs on a separate, older network now being rebuilt with different money toward 100,000 riders a day.
Mombasa-Nairobi SGR: a US$3.6bn corridor reset that still has to pay for itself
The SGR cut Mombasa-to-Kampala cargo time from 18 days to three. It also handed Kenya its largest-ever loan, equal to about 6% of GDP, and a railway that has run at an operating loss.
Roads, Rails and Wires: China’s African Build-Out and the Bill That Follows
China reports nearly 100,000 km of roads and over 10,000 km of railways built across Africa. Kenya’s flagship line shows why the build matters – and why the repayment terms matter as much.
Africa CDC’s New Home: A US$80 Million Headquarters and a Lesson in Health Sovereignty
China built Africa’s disease-control headquarters in Addis Ababa after a US retreat. The pandemic-born institution now houses its laboratories in a donated building.
A Gift in Glass and Concrete: The AU Headquarters and the Politics of Being Built
China funded the African Union’s US$200 million home in Addis Ababa. Its 99.9-metre tower honours African unity – and raises a question about who builds the continent’s institutions.
Local Councils Juggle Social Protection with Infrastructure Plans
Kgatleng and other councils tied child-grant registration to revenue drives while weighing roads and sewage – the everyday arithmetic of local government.
The Businesses Behind Farm Blocks and the Search for Agricultural Scale
Mapping the businesses inside a Zambian farm block – anchor farms, out-grower schemes, processing plants, irrigation and the rural towns that grow around them.
Copper Corridors: Lobito, TAZARA and Regional Logistics’s Recent Turning Point
Weighing 2022 to mid-2026 progress on the Lobito rail project and TAZARA revival for Zambia: separating measurable gains from announcements.