Kenya Railways has asked the government to build an underground tunnel linking the Green Park terminal at Uhuru Park to Haile Selassie avenue to ease Uhuru Highway congestion as part of the Sh28 billion Nairobi central railway city project.
The Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) has also asked Parliament to support the relocation of public service vehicles (matatus) from the railway station to the new bus park, which is now a battlefront between public service vehicles with the county government, as it embarks on the redevelopment of the railway city.
KRC managing director Philip Mainga on Tuesday told MPs that Kenya has already received Sh12 billion towards phase one of the project, which seeks to regenerate the Nairobi Central Railway Station and its surrounding areas into a multi-billion shillings transit-oriented and urban development.
Kenya struck a deal with the United Kingdom which in December committed £80 million (Sh11.9 billion) to build a green city of office blocks, malls and a light industrial hub on Kenya Railways land in fresh efforts to decongest the Central Business District as well as create employment.
The new city will relieve the CBD of part of the load in hosting enterprises through setting up economic zones that will comprise hi-tech industries and SMEs in a development set to create over 200,000 new jobs.
The multi-modal facility, which will be designed by British architects, will be situated within a 425-acre piece, of which Kenya Railways owns 292 acres. – Business Daily
