Transport CS James Macharia: Delayed SGR project to be back on track in 2 weeks

Construction of the second phase of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) through the Nairobi National Park will begin next month despite protests from wildlife conservation lobbies.

Phase 2A of the SGR project extending from Nairobi to Naivasha was supposed to be launched today but a petition filed by activists including the Kenya Coalition for Wildlife Conservation delayed the exercise.

The Government has now stated that the matter will be resolved in the next two weeks with the ground breaking ceremony scheduled for 19th October.

"We spoke to the Kenya Wildlife Services and presented to them seven options for the route and they picked one, which we are going to proceed with," explained Mr James Macharia, Transport and Infrastructure Cabinet Secretary.

Macharia further stated that the protests against the SGR route through the National Park were premature since the construction route was yet to be picked.

"The contention was on the environmental impacts of the railway and we are about to undertake an environmental impacts assessment on the route picked by KWS, which will inform the process," he said.
Macharia was speaking during the opening ceremony of the regional office of the China-Africa Development Fund.

The office is the first for China's private sector investment agency and will administrate over China's FDI spread across the region.

"Nairobi has been chosen to host this office because of its favourable investment climate and we believe that the Chinese growth model can be replicated in Africa and we are glad that Kenya is a willing partner," said Mr Chi Jianxin, chairman of CADFund.

Jianxin stated that CADfund has Sh1 trillion ($10 billion) for investment, which Kenya stands to benefit from.
Treasury CS, Henry Rotich said the presence of the regional office in the country would provide capital for several planned projects under the Private-Public-Partnership model.

"Kenya has several projects in the pipeline across the sectors of energy, infrastructure, agro-processing and real estate and we are glad CADfund has come at this opportune time to fill this financing gap," he said.

Rotich further said that the Government will soon invite bids for several mega-construction projects including the expansion of the entire stretch of the Nairobi-Mombasa road, the Nairobi-Mai Mahiu road, construction of the second Nyali Bridge in Mombasa and several other geothermal projects.