What are the challenges to setting up a rapid commuter transit system in Nairobi?
What we have is a master transit system plan that includes the rail which I’ve just explained, and buses. Now the problem is because of the way Nairobi is planned, putting a BRT becomes very challenging because cities which were planned adequately have adequate space to have space to set aside a lane for the buses because for you to have a proper BRT, you have to have a dedicated line for the buses and unfortunately we don’t have that in Kenya. Today if you want to take a bus into Kenyatta Avenue under the BRT system it will be almost impossible so what we thought would be much easier, much faster it to build the rail system first because at least there’s a track already in place coming from say Syokimau, other places like Kibera, we do that as we consider the logistics of a BRT but even that is in place.
We are just about to complete the Nairobi Metropolitan Authority, a joint authority between us and the Nairobi Government. Next week we’ve planned a meeting with Governor (Evans) Kidero to see how this Authority can be launched and if we launch it, it will be the one that will be addressing all the issues about public transport.
Next week we shall be launching the dualling of Ngong Road. Ngong Road as you know starts from the mortuary. If you drive now from the mortuary to Dagoretti corner it’s a problem. It will be expanded with the support of the Japanese government. The first phase is from the mortuary to Nakumatt Prestige, the second phase will be from Prestige to up to the Dagoretti corner and then to Karen.
When that’s done it will open up that area completely and then now if you open up the Thika road side and then we do this commuter rail towards Jomo Kenyatta Airport I think Nairobi in the next three years will start taking shape.
We’ve spent a lot of money on the SGR, will Kenya get value for money?
The impact on GDP alone will be at least two percent. One project. Number two, in terms of employment of our people, right now it’s employing up to 27,000 people. Along the route of the SGR we have businesses coming up. Even themselves the contractor, they’ve put up factories along the railway itself. If you go to a place called Kithekani, you’ll see a factory there producing sleepers which are used in terms of laying the track. Then you go to Emali near Nairobi, another big factory. If you aggregate all the benefits coming from this SGR it is massive. So for this one we have no doubt in our mind that it’s value for money, it is something which is actually very timely, which should have been done yesterday. Up to Nairobi I think nobody is questioning. The issue is now from Nairobi going through to Kisumu and Malaba. What you realise is that inevitably we have to go through very harsh terrain. Especially from Nairobi to Naivasha. That section alone is costing us Sh150 billion. The reason being for you to get from Nairobi to Rift Valley, you have to go through a tunnel which we’re doing of six kilometers into the Rift Valley. That costs money. When you exit the tunnel there’ll be a bridge 120 metres high. There’s no other way of going to Naivasha other than going that way so I think Kenyans should understand that whereas this cost is high, it’s inevitable, but the benefits to us as a country will start being realised almost immediately. It will open up our corridor not just to our neighbouring countries but also all the way to the West Coast of Africa because we are seeing it as a major link between the East and the West. I think it’s only after it’s open that Kenyans will see that indeed it was a very timely, value for money project.
