Thousands to get jobs as work starts on Sh30 billion Nairobi Railway City
At least 5000 people will get jobs as the construction of Kes30 billion Nairobi Railway City gets underway in an effort to modernize Kenya’s capital with green investments.
The mega project will seat on 425 acres of land, a vast majority of it owned by Kenya Railways, Kenya Railways Retirement Benefits Scheme and other State entities. It is eclosed between Haile Sellasie Avenue, Uhuru Highway, Landhies Road and Bunyala Road.
The groundbreaking of the site happened just a month after President William Ruto and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak struck a Kes500 billion deal towards a set of green initiatives across Kenya.
In early November, Dr Ruto and Mr Sunak met on the sidelines of the COP27 summit in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt, and agreed to fast-track investments in green energy, agriculture and transport to unlock mutual benefits for both countries.
The groundbreaking on Wednesday presented an opportunity to look back on the history of the country’s railway infrastructure which is inextricably linked to Kenya’s past as a British colony.
The Kings Cross London-style development, backed by £80 million of UK Export Finance, will regenerate Nairobi’s bustling central business district as a green urban environment of the future, an update from the UK Foreign office stated.
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“The UK offers honest, reliable investment that does not load countries with debt, but instead unlocks huge potential for economic growth, while boosting global health and tackling climate change,” James Cleverly, the British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs said.
Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen was a bit generous, calling the 123 years old Nairobi central station “hallmark of British investment in Kenya,” while his boss struck a leery tone noting that the railway’s history is fraught with foreign invasion, violent displacement, exploitation.
The Kes30 billion Nairobi Railway City is a composite of transport synergies including a central railway station, a bus rapid transit and a non-motorised transport which will transform the city into a thriving regional transport hub.
Mr Cleverly revealed that the project’s construction will utilise the latest green building technology to produce a tech-efficient railway system.
President said the project heralds a new era of socio-economic liberation creating around 5,000 jobs during the construction phase, and 5,000 more upon completion.
“This is part of our masterplan to liberate Nairobi to make it live up to its full promise as a national, regional, continental, and global multi-sectoral hub,” Dr Ruto added.
“The Railway City Project is designed to be a masterpiece providing ease of transport for commuters. The first phase will also comprise 10,000 housing units on 40 acres of Railway City,” he noted.
