Two main transport corridors are currently in the region: the Northern corridor passing through Kenya and the Central corridor passing through Tanzania. In addition, the strategic importance is acquired by the lapsset corridor, which is designed to connect Kenya's Coast with Ethiopia and South Sudan. The key direction of all corridors is the construction of a standard rail track (SGR) for the transfer of heavy car roads to a more efficient and environmentally friendly railway transport.
The northern corridor is a major multimodal transport artery connecting port Mombasa (Kenya) with the internal countries of the region: Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and the eastern part of the DRC. The management and development of the corridor are coordinated within the Northern corridor integration project (NCIP) launched in 2013 Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.
Transit and transport agreement (NCTA) in the Northern corridor zone serves as a legal basis for trade facilitation and standardization of customs rules.
The key projects of the Northern corridor are the started Kenya and Uganda in March 2026, construction of 107 km of SGR Kisum-Malaba railway site. In addition, Uganda started implementing its Malaba-Campala site (about 272 km), planning its further expansion to Casez and Mpondwe for connection with the DRC, as well as the construction of the toror-Gul Nimul in Juba (South Sudan). According to experts, SGR will reduce the cost of cargo transportation by about 50% per ton and kilometer, and the time in the way - almost 30%.
A car message is developing in parallel. With the support of the African development bank, the project of transnational high-speed Kenya-Uganda Highway is implemented by 193 km long, which will connect Kisum-Busia with Cacira-Malaba. The project provides for modernization of border transitions in Busia, Malaba and Lvakhach in modern pass points «one window» (OSBP) to accelerate border crossing.
The central corridor begins in port Dar es Salam (Tanzania) and binds it with family member countries Agency for transit transport of the Central corridor (CCTFA): Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Malawi, Zambia, DRC and Uganda. At the same time Tanzania actively positions itself as the main logistics hub of the region.
The key projects of the corridor are the construction of the SGR standard railway (the 460-kilometer Dar es Salaam-Dodoma line has already been commissioned in Tanzania, work is actively underway on the construction of new sections to connect with Burundi, Rwanda and the DRC), the commissioning of the Kwala dry port (the international airport was officially opened in July 2025 The Kwala logistics hub, which is designed to unload the main port, speed up cargo handling and provide domestic CCTTFA member countries with their own logistics platforms), as well as the development of multimodality (in August 2025, the TEAGTL terminal in the port of Dar es Salaam began rail transportation by connecting to the TAZARA network).
The LAPSSET corridor (Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport Corridor) is considered as a promising strategic initiative. This megaproject is supposed to link the new Lamu deepwater port in northern Kenya with Ethiopia and South Sudan through a network of roads, railways, oil pipelines and logistics centers. The port of Lamu, opened in 2021, has already invested $2.5 billion, but it is experiencing difficulties due to low load: in 2024, cargo turnover amounted to only 74 thousand tons.
In 2026, activities around this transport artery will intensify. Nairobi plans to build a dry port in Moyal on the border with Ethiopia and establish a ferry crossing across Lake Turkana in order to improve transport accessibility in the northern regions and expand trade with Ethiopia. A key element of LAPSSET's success may be an oil refining complex with a capacity of 700,000 barrels per day, which the Nigerian Dangote Corporation plans to build. The location of the production facility near the port of Lamu will create a constant cargo flow and increase the investment attractiveness of the highway. However, the project faces uncertainty regarding financing and supply of raw materials.
In general, the transport corridors of East Africa are undergoing a large-scale transformation based on the construction of modern railways and the development of multimodal logistics centers. The Northern Corridor and the Central Corridor are developing most dynamically. The LAPSSET project, despite the current difficulties, retains its strategic potential, which can be realized if a large anchor investor appears. The successful implementation of these initiatives, supported by international partners, including China within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, will significantly reduce transport costs, accelerate trade turnover and deepen the economic integration of East African countries.
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