Qalaa Holdings to sell 80pc Stake in Rift Valley Railways for Sh13.3B – Africa Business Round Up

Egyptian majority shareholder Qalaa Holdings is looking for buyers of the Kenya-Uganda railway concessionaire Rift Valley Railways (RVR).

Kenya’s Business Daily reports that Former State House operative Stanley Murage is leading a consortium of investors who are negotiating to acquire an 80 per cent stake in troubled Rift Valley Railways (RVR) for Sh13.3 billion.

TransCentury sold its 34 per cent in RVR to Qalaa for $43.7 million in 2014 and Centum sold its 10 per cent stake in 2010 for $4.5 million. Read:

Nigeria’s second busiest airport to be closed for 6 weeks from 8 March

Nigeria plans to close the airport in the capital Abuja for six weeks from 8 March to repair its runway, the aviation ministry announced.

“From start to finish of the runway, it will take six months. However, we will be using the runway throughout the period except for about six weeks when the runway will be closed. “The government has accepted the design done by the contractor. The runway will last for more than 10 years on completion early next year.” Read:

Transport in Africa: Getting Ahead of Climate

Africa’s growth is hampered by an inadequate and vulnerable transport system—a situation that will only be exacerbated by the effects of climate change, such as higher temperatures and more frequent flooding. To get ahead of the climate challenge, the region will need to make climate adaptation an integral part of its infrastructure strategy.

Uganda earned $74 million in Coffee Export in October and November

Latest statistics from Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) show that in October and November, the country exported a total of 617,171 (60) kilogramme bags of coffee beans, up from 472,119 bags exported the same period the previous year.

“In this period, the country earned $74 million (Shs264 billion), up from $47 million (Shs167 billion) earned the previous year,” UCDA report showed. Read: 

Important wins were notched up for African agriculture in 2016

2016 was a critical year in Africa’s negotiations to create a Continental Free Trade Area. This is scheduled to be finalised in 2017. The free trade area is expected to significantly expand Africa’s trade in agricultural products by building on current growth in the sector.

The talks are building the Tripartite Free Trade Area. This is a proposed African free trade agreement between the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), Southern African Development Community (SADC) and East African Community (EAC). It has created a market of more than 620 million people in 26 countries valued at $1.5 trillion.

The Continental Free Trade Area will cover more than a billion people in 54 countries with a combined GDP of over $3.5 trillion. It is also expected to create opportunities for trade in agricultural machinery and associated services. Read: