NAIROBI, Kenya August 7 – Kenyans living in Mount Kenya and Northern regions will now benefit from a cheaper and safer fuel after the refurbishment of Nairobi-Nanyuki railway line which will provide a cheaper and safer way to transport fuel to those areas.
Petroleum Principal Secretary Andrew Kamau, during a familiarizationtour of the railway line noted that it is cheaper to transport fuel via rail than road.
The railway line underwent rehabilitation within a few months after receiving Sh1.8 billion financing from the Kenya Pipeline company.
The funds was part of KPC’s remittances to the exchequer in form of special dividends
“As government we are very excited that with funds that came from KPC, Kenya Railways has been able to execute this project within a few months and we look forward to its commissioning very soon,” said Kamau.
“I am happy that we already have an anchor client for this rehabilitated line-Vivo Energy Kenya who are ready to utilize the line by ferrying fuel from Nairobi to Nanyuki for easy access to consumers in several counties in this region,” the PS added.
Transport PS, Solomon Kitungu, on his part added that resuming operations of the line which had been unutilized for many years will open up several economic opportunities in the region and contribute to the achievement of the government’s Big 4 agenda.
“I congratulate Kenya Railways for the speedy completion of this project because the economic benefits of this refurbished line especially in agriculture will go beyond the Mount Kenya region to other neighbouring counties. There will also be less accidents on our roads hence saving on lives,” Kitungu addded.
Laikipia Governor Ndiritu Muriithi added that the refurbished line will enable area residents to import and export goods.
“This line will not only enable us import critical products such as fuel and farm inputs, but it will also improve our capacity to export our homegrown agricultural products to intended markets on time and in an efficient way,” Muriithi said during a tour of Vivo Energy depot in Nanyuki.
