Uhuru criticises Nairobi National Park SGR route opponents

Works on the 120km Nairobi-Naivasha segment of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) are expected to begin by March next year, President Uhuru Kenyatta said even as he braved rising opposition to its passage through the Nairobi National Park.

Mr Kenyatta said that the 6.7km railway bridge to be built on park land will not affect the animals or its ecology and ruled out re-routing of the line.

“The construction of the SGR will not cause any disruption to the Nairobi National Park. Every care has been taken to ensure that there is no environmental degradation,” Mr Kenyatta said when he launched the multi-billion shilling project in Embulbul near Ngong town.

“The project must go on and we want them (environmental groups) to stop inciting and going to court. Let us build the railway because Kenya wants to move on.”

Works on the Nairobi section, which the government wants to pass through the park, remain in limbo after the National Environmental Tribunal stopped it following a petition by activist Okiya Omtatah.

Kenya Railways managing director Atanas Maina said the government would be forced to spend a lot more than the budgeted ($1.48 billion) Sh148 billion if forced to route away from the park.

There are seven possible routes, six of which involve compensating owners of commercial and residential properties at exorbitant costs.

“As far as we are concerned, the park is the most ideal route. If we had cheaper choices we would have taken those,” Mr Maina said.

“It’s not just about avoiding compensation, but also looking at what the Kenyan people are paying fellow citizens to develop a project while there are cheaper solutions.”

Environmental groups have been picketing and demonstrating outside the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) headquarters in Langata, demanding a re-routing of the line to avoid potential disruption of wildlife.

READ: Kenya Railways to carve out more park land for SGR route

In his appeal, Mr Omtatah has faulted the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) for keeping mum on the decision to have the SGR pass through the park, and failing to conduct an environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the project.

Mr Maina said Kenya Railways has submitted the EIA study to Nema and are awaiting award of a licence.

He said the State was also finalising the alignment of the rail, a process that would inform decisions on the land acquisition.

This will be the second incursion into the park following the earlier rerouting of the nearly complete Mombasa - Nairobi segment of the rail.

Kenya Railways last year signed an agreement with the KWS and the National Land Commission (NLC) allowing it to realign the line into the park.

This was to avoid a huge compensation bill for industries and residential estates in Mlolongo and Athi River that were on the SGR’s original path.

China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), the contractor, has built a project site at Embulbul in readiness for the start of phase two.  

The project will involve construction of 40 bridges covering 19.6km - the national park bridge being the longest. It will also have four tunnels measuring 7.8km.

A total of five stations will be built along the line terminating in Naivasha where the government wants to put up an industrial park.

Construction of the SGR, which is expected to cover nearly 1,000km from the coastal town of Mombasa to the border town of Malaba is expected to reduce the cost of transporting goods along the corridor and spur economic expansion.

“Completion of the Nairobi-Malaba railway segment will improve traffic conditions on Northern Corridor, reduce the cost of cross border logistics, promote local employment and enhance Kenya’s political and economic strength in East Africa,” CRBC said in a statement.

Works on the 472km segment between Nairobi and Mombasa are nearly complete with only two kilometres of rail yet to be laid.

Transport principal secretary Irungu Nyakera said works on other sectors like stations and signalling are more than 60 per cent complete. Over 30 locomotives for passenger and freight stations will be delivered between December and February.
Kenya Railways will in mid-November hold discussions with John Holland, the firm expected to manage the rail for five years, to discuss details of the concession such as passenger and freight costs, Mr Maina said.