Landowners in Kenya are eyeing a multi-million windfall brought about by Standard Gauge Railway

Landowners along the Sh150 billion Standard Gauge Railway line running from Nairobi – Naivasha and passing through Narok, are set to earn millions of shillings in compensation in the next two weeks.
The 120-kilometer line will link the planned Naivasha export processing zone and Ol Karia geothermal fields to the Sh327 billion Nairobi-Mombasa railway.

Landowners in Kenya are eyeing a multi-million windfall brought about by the country’s largest infrastructure project since independence.

Landowners along the Sh150 billion Standard Gauge Railway line running from Nairobi – Naivasha and passing through Narok, are set to earn millions of shillings in compensation in the next two weeks, as the country races against time to complete the Nairobi – Naivasha SGR Phase 2A by June next year.

“The Ministry of Lands, National Lands Commission, and Kenya Railways have deployed land surveyors and valuers to various sites along the route to fast track the land acquisition and compensation process. The professionals will be on the ground for the next two weeks to facilitate awards and final payments to owners with official documents,” said Kenya Railways managing director Atanas Maina.

The 120-kilometer line will link the planned Naivasha export processing zone and Ol Karia geothermal fields to the Sh327 billion Nairobi-Mombasa railway.

China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC ), the Chinese contractor, despite numerous challenges ranging from workers, strikes to human rights violation accusations, began the track laying process last week after successfully completing the foundational works.

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Speaking at Kyang’ombe (DK2 Project Site) in Nairobi where he witnessed the installation of bridge girders across the Nairobi National Park which is a critical part of the ongoing extension of the SGR line, President Uhuru Kenyatta challenged the contractor to stick to the June 2019 completion timeline.

“We want to ride on the Nairobi-Naivasha SGR on May 31 next year, and then go to Kajiado for Madaraka Day the next day,” said President Kenyatta.

The fast passenger rail service will see Kitengela, Ngong, Ongata Rongai in Kajiado County, Kamangu in Kiambu, Suswa in Narok and Mai Mahiu get sub-stations for passenger rail services.

The 120-kilometer phase 2A will come to an end in Naivasha and will be the first of the three segments that make up the second phase of the SGR construction that is expected to extend to Kisumu and terminate at Malaba on Kenyan border with Uganda.