• Eight counties were to contribute Sh100 million each to set the Sh25 billion project.
• Trade CS Peter Munya said this week Kenya will begin direct sales of coffee to the US Sate of Nebraska in the Midwest.
The national Chamber of Commerce has urged the national and county governments to rehabilitate the Nairobi-Nanyuki metre-gauge railway.
The project is estimated to cost Sh25 billion. Talks began in 2017 but nothing has been agreed.
President Richard Ngatia of the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) said rehabilitation would ease transport of agricultural produce for the local and export markets.
“As part of the development agenda, particularly infrastructure, we urge restoration of the Nairobi-Nanyuki railway line," he told the Central Kenya Business Forum at the Thika Technical College on Saturday.
Talks to revive the railway were initiated by governors from eight counties in November 2017. They are Nairobi, Kiambu, Murang’a, Kirinyaga, Nyeri, Laikipia, Nyandarua and Isiolo.
Each county was to contribute Sh100 million to start the project. It is not clear if they paid.
The Central Kenya Economic Bloc has since been handling the talks with Kenya Railways.
The line was constructed in 1913 and extended to Nanyuki in World War II to supply British forces with equipment.
It became the lifeline for farmers in the agriculturally rich region and transported produce from Nanyuki, Karatina and Sagana.
It has been derelict since the late 1990s and some sections have fallen away.
Ngatia said it was time to restore the line. He said it would open up counties in Central and Rift Valley such as Laikipia. It would increase trade for the entire nation, he said.
Once the line is revived, he said, farmers will easily and cost-effectively transport their produce. Small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) will also benefit from transport to and from Nairobi and smaller towns.
A working railway line will create jobs too, he said.
The chamber of commerce boss also urged farmers and traders to focus on the value addition of crops to fetch better prices.
Ngatia promised to seek foreign markets for the private sector. He also pledged that the chamber would support enhanced market chains, greater compliance with trade standards and improved access to financial resources.
The chamber is undertaking value-chain training for dairy, coffee and mango farmers through the Switch Africa Green Project.
Speaking at the same event, Trade Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya said Kenya will this week start the first direct sales of coffee to the US state of Nebraska.
Munya said the ministry is developing a policy for operations of SMEs.
“On November 29, we will launch 35 constituency industrial centres at Othaya in Nyeri, aiming for similar centres across all constituencies. The 35 centres are ready," he said.
Kiambu Deputy Governor James Nyoro emphasised the need to create jobs by developing a 24-hour economy and reopening collapsed industries such as the bacon factory in Uplands within Kiambu.
The two-days forum aimed to showcase SME products fromNyandarua, Nyeri, Muranga, Kiambu and Kirinyaga.
(Edited by V. Graham)