Wildlife land among those to be affected by new railway project

Last Updated 13 years ago by Kenya Engineer

Out of the total 5,567 acres of land needed for the construction of the Standard Gauge Railway (SRG),a total of 250 acres of land under the Kenya Wildlife Services will be used. The land in Taita Taveta, Kwale and Makueni counties will be acquired through a compulsory acquisition gazetted last Friday by the National Land Commission.

The Sh448 billion railway project has attracted a lot of controversy following the pricing, design and tendering process of the project where China Road and Bridge Construction won the tender. The president however said the project will go on in spite ongoing probing as the project is expected to have great economical benefits to the country.

Another 70 acres of land will be acquired from private land owners, bringing to 320 acres the land being annexed for public use in the first phase. A total of Sh8 billion will be used in the acquisition of land needed for the construction of the railway.

The railway line will be built to the American Standard of 39 inches between rails as the Chinese standards of 56 inches are not applicable outside the country.

An inland container depot at Embakasi will also be set-up to a tune of Sh11 billion plus consultancy services adding up to Sh3 billion.

A 1.5 per cent Railway Development Levy on imports for use in Kenya was introduced in the last Budget to finance the railway. The levy raised Sh10 billion in the first half of the financial year against the target of Sh6.2 billion. The levy is however set to be reviewed following several institutions claiming that their imports should not be taxed.

The second phase of the project will run between Nairobi and Malaba with a branch line to Kisumu.

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