Infrastructure

Sh5.6bn Thika Road Project ‘A Waste of Public Money’

Legislators claim the BRT project offers no value to the country.

Updated on

March 24, 2023

The Bogota TransMilenio bus transit system — Bogota TransMilenio bus transit system in Colombia. PHOTO/FILE

Members of Parliament have declined to approve a new round of funding for the Thika Road Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project, terming it a sheer waste of public money.

The on-and-off project, which has been underway since 2020, stalled last year after the Chinese contractor vacated the site due to lack of funds.

Stecol Corporation, formerly SinoHydro Tianjin Engineering Co. Ltd., left the site mid-last year after the State failed to allocate Sh3 billion that was required to complete the corridor between Kasarani and Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH).

Housing and Urban Development Principal Secretary Charles Hinga had earlier said that more money was needed to complete the project by July 2022.

“The total project cost for the current line under construction is about Sh5 billion and we have spent up to Sh2 billion to date,” Mr Hinga said.

“This means we need an additional Sh3 billion to complete the current line.”

In 2020, Stecol Corp. signed a Sh5.6 billion deal with the State for the construction of the pilot phase of the 27km Simba BRT corridor which runs from Ruiru to KNH.

After the pilot phase, Nairobi Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (Namata) – the implementing authority – was expected to implement phase one of the Ruiru-KNH mass transit corridor, in which 300 high-capacity buses would be deployed.

Five corridors

The ultimate game plan for Namata is to set up five corridors across five counties for use by buses. These include Nyati, Chui, Ndovu, Simba, and Kifaru – all of which will be interlinked within the Nairobi central business district.

On Thursday, members of the National Assembly’s Transport Committee told Namata acting director general Francis Gitau that the project would not be allocated any more funding since its viability was questionable.

“You’ll have to convince us of the viability of this project… the much we have heard indicates that there is no value for money in the project,” said George Kariuki, the committee chairman.

However, Mr Gitau urged MPs to approve the funds – saying the project will ease traffic jams in the Nairobi metropolis, which includes Nairobi, Kiambu, Kajiado, Machakos, and Murang’a.

“If we plan like European countries using this project, Kenya will be fantastic in terms of easing traffic on the congested roads within the metropolis,” he said.