Nairobi’s Eastlands is characterised by dilapidated houses, uncontrolled or illegal housing extensions, environmental degradation and urban poverty.
These are some of the problems the Urban Renewal Plan seeks to fix. Also targeted are poor infrastructure and services, a chaotic public transport system, congestion, inadequate interlinkages and lack of proper development plans.
Consultants shared the plan with the Transport and Housing ministry during a meeting at Radisson Blu Hotel, Nairobi. Solutions to the sorry state of affairs include an upgrade of infrastructure near the SGR station. This covers the Syokimau station, inland container depot and environs.
The Urban Renewal Plan for Eastlands, Nairobi ( 2016-36 ) is Sh33 billion Nairobi Metropolitan Service Improvement Projects under the Country Partnership Strategy. They are being undertaken by the government with support from the World Bank.
Transport CS James Macharia, Housing PS Charles Mwaura, Public Works PS Gordon Kihalangwa, Nairobi Transport executive Hitan Majevdia and Nairobi acting county secretary Leboo ole Morintat attended the meeting. Macharia regretted that some of the proposals were delayed.
“I face serious challenges doing things that should have been done 50 years ago,” he said.
He, however, welcomed the fact that all proposals had considered public transport. He said the rollout of the much-awaited bus rapid transit has been challenging given the nature of some roads. Macharia cited the transportation of dangerous products such as fuel within the city and the need for diversion.
Noting that the mistakes of the past should not be repeated, Macharia called for the quick implementation of the plan. He said strong institutions and political goodwill are needed to implement it. The proposals include a new comprehensive land-use plan that outlines types of land uses, action area plans and sector strategies.
The key sectors are housing, infrastructure, environmental management, disaster management and heritage preservation, economic strategy, revenue enhancement strategy and a financing Framework.
According to the plan, SGR Embakasi station area, which includes Syokimau and the inland container terminal, will have a direct road bridge that will link the terminus with the airport. The first phase of the project will focus on developing land in the northern part.
The SGR station will also be upgraded to create a transport hub. This will allow the SGR to be an interchange platform between the airport and the site.
The plan also combines the matatu network with the bus terminus and BRT network to enhance fluidity.
Other core areas are education and research hub, residential areas for middle- to high-income earners and affordable housing components.
Several road connections have been proposed. They include an extension of Mombasa Road up to Mlolongo, with new junctions, and a new connection from Pipeline to Imara Daima.
Other road networks that will be constructed and improved are Syokimau to Mhihango, truck bypass, and Airport North Road to JKIA. The consultant said 12 per cent of the area to be developed will be green, while 24 per cent will compose of roads.
During the presentation, it was revealed that over 50 per cent of city streets do not have names or addresses. One of the consultants had worked on the physical address system. It was also revealed that the county government is deprived of revenue as it cannot account for all those paying rates.
A study conducted by Geo Maps in 2016 showed that owners and locations of 156,710 properties are known. Some 68,470 had locations but not owners, while 47, 832 had owners but no information on location.
(Edited by F'Orieny)
