Economy

State borrows Sh6.4bn from Korea for BRT

brt

Road works for the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) Station under construction along Thika Road Superhighway at Survey on June 7, 2021. PHOTO | DIANA NGILA | NMG

The State has borrowed Sh6.4 billion from the Korean government to finance the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT).

The government moved to the Korean Export and Import Bank to seeks the long-term loan which taxpayers will service to January 29, 2061.

The Treasury signed the Sh6,365,150,000 loans at an exchange rate of Sh107.85.

The loan, signed on January 29, 2021, is yet to be disbursed to the Kenyan government.

“The loan will…attract interested rate of Sh0.1 percent per anum and a service charge of Sh0.1 percent per annum on undisbursed loan amount,” Treasury said in disclosures to Parliament.

BRT is designed to improve a city’s public transport network relative to conventional buses.

The government plans to launch six BRT corridors in Nairobi.

Priority corridors are the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to Likoni, James Gichuru-Rironi and Bomas to Ruiru roads. Other motorways are Ngong Road, Juja, Mama Lucy, T-Mall and Balozi to Imara roads.

The corridors are expected to hold up to 950 high-capacity buses reducing travel time and cost by up to 70 percent.

Kenya is seeking to offer a private firm a 12-year concession to run BRT on Thika and Mombasa roads to ease traffic in Nairobi.

Nairobi Metropolitan Area Transport Authority acting director-general Francis Gitau said the firm would run 300 BRT buses.