SGR extends Naivasha link completion date

The completion date of the Nairobi-Naivasha section of the Standard Gauge Railway has been  rescheduled.

The contractor has ruled out meeting the June deadline for the multi-billion shilling second phase of the rail network and instead given a new August date.

Chinese Communications Construction Company (CCCC) blamed the delay on the compensation row in the Ngong area.

Work on the 120 kilometre section is 90 percent complete with various passengers terminus ready.

The firm's  communication officer Jasper Lui, they were optimistic that the row in Ngong would be resolved soon.

Speaking during a tour of the Mai Mahiu and Suswa stations, Lui said they are engaging state agencies and the affected persons to resolve the issue.

“We expect the railway line to be complete by August depending on the compensation row in Ngong as already 90 percent of the project is complete,” he said.

He gave an assurance that the line is safe despite been constructed in an area  with active where volcanic.

Lui said earthquake resistant measures have been incorporated in the construction including building the railway track on a wider sub-grade - the foundation on which the track is built on. 

“The sub-grade and slope in the SGR Phase 2A are relatively higher and wider in comparison to Phase 1 from Mombasa to Nairobi,” he said.

The CCCC head of design Xue Zhiming said geologists and others earthquake experts had been involved in the section.

He said the contractor determined the safest seismic fortification to be implemented in the construction was to meet an earthquake resistance intensity of 8, in the area between Embulbul – Ngong and Duka Moja – Narok.

“When we began planning the construction of the SGR Phase 2A, we mobilized many seasoned geologists from the renowned China Seismological Bureau and to conduct a thorough geological survey in the seismic belt along the railway line,” he said.

He said that the railway would not be affected since the earthquake resistance intensity used in construction was set considerably higher than what was ideally recommended.

“In the unlikely event of the rail corridor experiencing an earthquake similar to the 2008 Chinese Great Sichuan earthquake, it is guaranteed the railway line and other supporting infrastructure will not be destroyed,” he said.