When the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit is held in Dakar, Senegal later this year, East Africa will be hoping Beijing will help revive the dream of building a modern regional railway.

China has cumulatively committed US$120 billion in the past two FOCAC meetings, but analysts said China might not be as generous as in past events, meaning the project may once again miss out on Chinese funding.

In 2014, Kenya , Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan agreed to build a standard gauge railway line from the coastal city of Mombasa to Malaba – the western border town with Uganda – to Kampala, the capital of Uganda. The Ugandan railway was then to link neighbouring countries of Rwanda, South Sudan and the mineral-rich Democratic Republic of Congo.

Export-Import Bank of China (China Eximbank) initially agreed to fund the mega project as part of the Belt and Road Initiative, but it has since become more cautious in funding construction of the railway.