President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya will today travel to China to secure Sh368 billion for the extension of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), a State House official has confirmed.

Uhuru will be accompanied by the Opposition leader Raila Odinga in the trip.

It was, however, not immediately clear, whether the two leaders will travel together or separately to the Asian country.

The Jubilee administration is seeking for further funds to extend the line to Naivasha, then to Kisumu and subsequently link it up with Uganda to ease trade within the region.

Raila, the African Union's High Representative for Infrastructure Development in Africa, while in Kisumu at the weekend disclosed that he will accompany the president to the Asian country to lobby for more loans to complete the mega infrastructure project.

“I will be part of the delegation that will accompany the President to the Asian country next week. The new SGR line will extend from Naivasha to Narok, Bomet, Sondu and finally Kisumu,” Raila said at Sondu, in Kisumu on Saturday.

He also said they had discussed and agreed with President Uhuru to build a new port in Kisumu.

Stating that the new port will allow big vessels to dock and to transit goods from Kisumu to Sio port all the way to either port Bell Jinja and Bukoba in Uganda.

The government plans to complete the second phase of the project that runs from Nairobi to Naivasha by August this year.

According to the government, the 120-kilometre stretch would be completed in August as it was 80 per cent complete. It is estimated to cost a total of Sh170 billion.

The phase from Naivasha to Kisumu is estimated to gobble about Sh360 billion before the government seeks for additional Sh170 billion to connect the line to Malaba.