Traders at Nairobi Central Railway Station have been told vacate to pave way for a special planning area.
The order is meant to facilitate a sustainable local development plan for the area.
"Nairobi Central Railway Station and its surrounding bound by Haile Selassie Avenue, Uhuru Highway, Bunyala Road, Commercial Street and Landhies Road measuring 172 hectares (425 acres) has been declared a Special Planning Area with effect from the date of this notice for a period of one year, with provision for extension," a notice dated February 14 read.
The notice was issued by the Nairobi city county government in conjunction with the Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development.
The plan, according to the Nairobi government, will complement the existing Central Business District and transform the main Central Railway Station and its immediate environs into a world-class railway city.
City planning executive Charles Kerich said it will comprise mixed-use development, open spaces and multi-modal transportation systems through harmonised policy guidelines, regulations and standards for buildings.
Other forms of development into a single reference framework (one-stop-shop) for developers and regulatory agencies with regard to development control processes will be part of the plan.
The directive stops any development in the special planning area.
A detailed map of the proposed development is available at City Hall and at the national government's Department of Physical Planning at Ardhi House.
Last October, the national government released Sh28 billion for the Nairobi Railway City masterplan to expand the Central Business District.
The project is estimated to take 20 years, with the first phase taking place between 2020 and 2030.
Railway infrastructure and water supply will take the bulk of the costs at Sh17.5 billion.
Edited by Henry Makori
