I know you'd be happy if kenya sunk so you could finally make a point. SGR is already all the way past Duka Moja - about 35kms from Narok now - and from there - there is really no old rail. So this will be greenfield - because it shorter and has flatter terrain.
I believe there is ongoing chinese led feasibility study of upgrading the old rail. We need lot more rails. I mean our total cargo is already 33m - this SGR at it best - can only ferry 20-35M tonnes (with aggresive double stacking). Now imagine 10 yrs from now - when we will have South African kind of CARGO - maybe 75M metric tonnes.
Let not think short term. We should be debating the feasibility of LAPSET - not the NORTHERN CORRIDOR - that has been feasible for 300yrs - if you ask the Arab Traders
Lapset is pretty risk and futuristic -- and we probably need to focus on minning and exploration in northern kenya - before we fully commit to build infrastructure accross a desert.
The SGR math don't add up otherwise they would all over for us to see. Why not upgrade the old rail?