Citadel Capital brings Rift Valley Railways firmly back on track

Dubai: Citadel Capital, a private equity firm in the Middle East with more than $9 billion (Dh33 billion) in investments, has successfully brought back Rift Valley Railways (RVR) of Kenya and Uganda into profitability after acquiring a stake in the then loss-making firm, company officials told Gulf News.

RVR owns a 25-year concession to operate a century-old rail line with some 2,352km of track linking the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa in Kenya with the interiors of both Kenya and Uganda, including the Ugandan capital Kampala.

For the past two years, Citadel Capital has been working with the RVR management and its local partners (Transcentury and Bomi Holdings), to formulate a three-point turn-around programme with investments of $287 million.

The pillars of the programme include the upgrade of operational systems (2011-12), rehabilitation of existing assets (2011-2013), and addition of new assets to the fleet (2012 onward).

RVR handles over 1.6 million tonnes per annum out of an existing market of 16 million tonnes being handled at Mombasa Port. The company plans to see that figure grow to five million tons per annum by 2015.