Expressway to gobble more billions as State negotiates exits to city centre
The government is negotiating with Kenya Railways Golf Club (KRGC) to free up land for the construction of the Nairobi Expressway exits to the central business district (CBD), signalling that more taxpayers' money will again be pumped into the project in form of land compensation.
Stiff opposition from environmentalists and activists, private developers, and non-governmental organisations over the encroachment of the said land blocked the implementation of the original design of the Nairobi Expressway which had exits to CBD.
Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia said the original design has exits at Haile Selassie and near Nyayo house but to get those exits, the contractors had to touch the railway's golf club and Uhuru Park.
“However, people protested, and we were taken to court by NGOs and activists. We are trying to negotiate with a golf club to take a bit of it which we shall pay for so that the design can be implemented as it was,” he told Business Hub.
Exit points
Macharia confirmed to the Business Hub that “people’ who could not be identified, have insisted that Uhuru Parkland will not be slashed to accommodate expressway exit points, despite being government property.
KRGC ground, which has for long been under major duel with the Kenya Railways Corporation, is held by a board of trustees and members of about 3,000, comprising top government officials.
The component of the Sh89 million expressway project was structured in a way that the government-financed the acquisition of land for the right of way, relocation of utilities and government restitution costs while China firm financed the remaining expenses.
