A man boards a train at the Syokimau station. Kenya Railways Corporation
was forced to halt services on the route March 20, 2013 following
floods. Photo/AFP
The Cabinet has cleared Nairobi Commuter Rail
(NCR) for private financing, putting on track a grand project seeking to
end the city’s transport snarl-up.
At its last weekly
meeting, the Cabinet approved the $200 million (Sh16 billion) NCR among
other 47 flagship public private partnership (PPP) projects.
“The
passage of the Public Private Partnership Act, 2013 paved the way for
participation of the private sector in infrastructure development,” the
Cabinet brief issued last Thursday reads in part.
The
Cabinet approved a total of 47 projects for development under the PPP
programme including the100km-Nairobi rail commuter services.
Once
completed, the NCR is expected to interlink all sections of the city in
a network that converges at the city’s central business district,
driving out low-capacity vehicles that cause traffic jam.
The dedicated lines will connect satellite towns of Kitengela, Thika, Kikuyu and Rongai.
According
to Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, Nairobi loses Sh50 million
daily due to traffic jams. Just like the Kenya National Highways
Authority has lined up major flagship projects to decongest the City,
the Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) has placed its bet on NCR.
Apart
from the Syokimau Station launched last year, the grand plan envisages
three new railway stations at Makadara Estate on Jogoo Road, Mombasa
Road’s Imara Daima and Moi Avenue.
Kenya Railway acting CEO Alfred Matheka was said to be locked in a meeting throughout the day when the Business Daily sought
his comments, but his public relations officers said the Cabinet’s
decision came at the right time to address a major hurdle to other
phases of the project.
The KRC officials have
frequently cited financing as a major handicap to the project launched
with much fanfare in November last year.
Due to slow
release of funds from public coffers, Kenya Railways has only managed to
complete four out of the 26 modern commuter stations lined up for
construction in the first phase of the project.
The
approval by Cabinet now opens up the project to be built and be
initially operated by private sector as state provides policy guideline.
While there has been a general apprehension over the
planned switch to pay-for-use public assets, officials see the new PPP
engagement as representing a new era in service provision.
This article first appeared on Businessdailyafrica.com
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