Security opportunities and risks associated with the standard gauge railway (SGR) in Kenya

Abstract

The above project is based on the security opportunities and risks associated with Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in Kenya. The SGR is the latest infrastructure development in Kenya under vision 2030 flagship. As a result, it will have influences in terms of opportunities and risks associated with it. The opportunities associated with SGR in Kenya are: reduced transport cost, reduced time to travel between Mombasa and Nairobi and other destinations served by it and increase in growth of gross domestic product (GDP). It will also help in job creation both at micro and macro level, increase in industrialization within its areas of influence, generate business growth along the SGR route and the surrounding regional growth in East Africa and beyond and provide entrepreneurship opportunities, increase urbanization along the SGR route and establishment of training institutions in form of human resource capacity building. There are also influences in form of security risks. These include: terror attacks from local and international terrorists; increased country debt before returns can be realized; and failure to reach breakeven in the event that business does not thrive to the expected levels; environmental risks and loss of jobs in alternative transport sectors like bus and heavy truck transporters. Despite the costs of this project towards defense and information security, this project will be beneficial in boosting the country’s economy as well as its relations with neighboring countries as well as the rest of the world at large. Therefore, this project entails different assessments on how the SGR will affect the different aspects of security as well as the possible solutions and recommendations for implementation that can bring the best out of the project. Additionally, we get the concept of how the railway system is affecting the security through different case studies from other countries whereby their rail systems have always been a significant transport infrastructure to a particular country’s growth and development. As a result, the nation can borrow a leaf from these important situations such that they can harness the opportunities while mitigating on the risks.