Kenya launches a new railway between the port city of Mombasa and the capital, Nairobi in May 2017. Photo: cnsphoto

The Chinese Embassy in Kenya said that recent media reports suggesting the Kenya government was urged to stop a Chinese company from running rail lines in the country were untrue.

In a separate statement, the Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC), which oversees the concerned operations, also offered a detailed response to a series reports from the Kenyan newspaper Sunday Standard that raised unfounded questions over the Chinese firm's involvement in the operations.

"What the media reported is not true," the Chinese Embassy in Kenya said in a statement sent to the Global Times on Tuesday.

The Sunday Standard reported earlier that Kenya's State Law Office was urging the Kenyan government to stop the Chinese firm Africa Star Railway Operation Co (Afristar) from running its rail lines, because revenue fell below a target. According to the Sunday Standard, the KRC has been advised to oust the Chinese rail operator as soon as next Saturday.

The report was then picked up by other international media outlets, including Bloomberg.

In the statement to the Global Times, the Chinese Embassy also referred to a detailed statement from the KRC, which refuted several reports in the Sunday Standard. 

"The fact is that the attorney general's advisory only made a case against the extension of the Addendum for Phase 2A for a further period of three months, as the same invites an additional financial liability for KRC by way of fixed and variable costs payable to the operator. There is a wide gulf between that and what the author is alleging," KRC said in its statement.

In three reports - "AG wants Chinese operator kicked out of rail business" and the editorial "It's time to review Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) deal, get value for money from it" published on May 24, and "How Chinese firm staged SGR ticketing scandal" on May 25 - the Sunday Standard distorted facts, according to the statements.

A Global Times review of those reports showed that some were reported as news, while others were opinion clearly calling for terminating the contract with the Chinese firm. 

KRC said that Phillip Mainga, managing director of KRC, wishes to confirm that discussions between management and Afristar, the operator of the SGR, are ongoing and progressing well, with most issues raised by Kenya Railways having been resolved amicably.

"To date, the operator has successfully carried out its [operations and maintenance] contract and fulfilled all obligations under it," the KRC statement said.

The statement stressed that through the great efforts of Kenya Railways and the operator, freight trains continue to operate normally and remain a major transportation solution provider during the pandemic period.