Will Sh28bn Central Railway Station, CBD remake restore lustre?

Nairobi, once the fabled Green City in the Sun, could again be a green magnet following the unveiling of the final design of the new Central Railway Station and Railway City.

The remodelled CBD will be a new central economic zone with Transit-Oriented Development (TOD), mixed residential and commercial space, housing, waterways and artwork and green space.

It's a 20-year, Sh28 billion project.

The new design was completed by Atkins UK and on Thursday was handed over to the Kenya Railways and the Ministry of Transport.

UK firms KPMG and Atkins Global have been handling the research and design work.

The project is part of the wider Nairobi Railway City redevelopment programme, promoted by President Kenyatta and supported by the UK government.

“We will start very soon. We are in the process of  finalising the MoU. We should be hitting the ground by July,” Transport PS Joseph Njoroge said.

The UK government came on board after President Kenyatta requested UK support when he met Prime Minister Boris Johnson in January 2020.

Njoroge said the project will provide different means of intermodal transport.

Under the project, an underground tank will be used to collect rainwater for supply within the proposed development. 

It will also have natural lighting as well as 11,000 square meters of PV panels to generate all the power needs.

The design of the project is heavily borrowed from Kenyan culture.

With the unveiling of the design, the first phase of the project is set to kick off.

Railway infrastructure and water supply will take the bulk of the costs at Sh17.5 billion and Sh3.9 billion respectively.

The multi-modal urban development project will be situated within 425 acres said to be owned by the Kenya Railways and currently serving as the Nairobi Railway Station.

The project covers the area between Haile Selassie Avenue, Uhuru Highway and Bunyala Road.

Those who had encroached on the public land will have to vacate.

The proposed primary planning area is situated within the site containing the Nairobi Central Railway Station, the marshalling yard and the Kenya Railways Pension Scheme Land (Landimawe Estate).

It also stretches to the locomotive and wagon workshops and the section of Nairobi’s Industrial Area on the southern boundary of the Nairobi Railway Station.

The plan includes the building of a spectacular new railway station that allows for the integration of Bus Rapid Transit and other public transport modes.

According to the design, the new central station is designed to be a hub in the CBD to ensure seamless connections among commuter rail, three BRT lines, Airport Limousine, City bus, and Non-Motorized Transport like bicycle lanes,among others.

Present during the unveiling ceremony at Serena Hotel included the UK Prime Minister’s G7 and G20 Jonathan Black and the UK’s Deputy High Commissioner and development director Julius Court.

Others present were Nairobi Metropolitan Services director general Mohammed Badi,  Kenya Railways MD Philip Mainga and KRC board chairman Pastor Omudho Awitta. 

Six government buildings mincluding Foreign Affairs headquarters, will be constructed. 

Seven hundred housing units and other auxiliary services as well as green spaces will also be incorporated.

Already, NMS has announced  all the PSVs will be moved to the Green Park terminus as part of the plan to decongest the city from next week.

Black said great cities have always been engines of growth and innovation, and today’s big challenge is how they can also become cleaner, greener and smarter so they are great places for people to live and work in.

"This is a challenge across the world, from Nairobi to London. That is why it is such a pleasure to be here  for the launch of the design for the new Central Railway Station and public realm that will sit at the heart of Nairobi Railway City," he said.

Court said the Nairobi Railway City is a flagship project in the UK-Kenya Strategic Partnership which was agreed upon by UK Prime Minister and President Uhuru Kenyatta during the Africa Investment Summit in 2020.

"Today’s event reflects the growing strength and integration of the UK’s infrastructure offer to Kenya and the UK’s commitment to the Build Back a Better World and Clean Green Initiative delivering investment into clean and green infrastructure.”

Director for Atkins, Chris Crombie, said the Nairobi Railway City is a hugely important, flagship project in the heart of the city and the gateway to East Africa.

"The design and vision we have created, working alongside Howard Humphreys, is a real case study of how to create transit-orientated development with climate adaptation built-in. The railway city project will support the Kenyan government in its commitment to deliver jobs, as well as green and sustainable infrastructure that drives regeneration.”

At the event, the senior representatives of the Kenyan government also announced they were in negotiations for the provision of as much as  Sh220 billion of UK Export Finance for projects in Kenya, with the new Central Station likely to be a prime mover.

UK-Kenya trade is worth around £1.1 billion (Sh165 billion) annually, and the UK is Kenya’s fifth-largest trading partner (importer of Kenyan goods) after, Uganda, Pakistan, the US and the Netherlands.

The Nairobi Railway City is expected to be a world-class, climate-resilient project delivering transport capacity to sustain future growth and lay the foundations for a Green City of the Future.

Badi said the project is a key anchor in transforming the city, adding  his administration had done a lot to spruce up the once green city in the sun.

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