With only less than 10 months remaining in office, President Uhuru Kenyatta is banking on major development projects which will propel his legacy.
Nairobi being Kenya's capital is currently undergoing a major transformation through various projects undertaken by the government despite it being the epicentre of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Amidst the pandemic last year, Uhuru commissioned various development that will change the face of the capital city.
Last November, the President commissioned the Nairobi Commuter Rail which is currently serving three million people monthly up from 1.2 million.
The Nairobi Commuter Rail System was introduced in May 1992 after a series of strikes by matatu operators brought public transportation to a standstill.
But it remained stillborn for 28 years due to logistical problems and low demand.
The NRC is amid at giving commuters an alternative mode of transport that will help decongest the traffic witnessed in Nairobi.
Currently, there are 10 commuter train services on Nairobi - Imara Daima-Syokimau route, Nairobi - Githurai - Mwiki - Kahawa – Ruiru route, Nairobi-Embakasi route, and Nairobi - Kibera – Kikuyu route.
The stations are being served by 11 refurbished Diesel Multiple Unit (DMUs) which were bought from Spain for Sh1.15 billion.
NRC is part of the wider Nairobi Metropolitan Services Improvement Project that falls under the State Department for Housing and Urban Development.
Infrastructure
Through the Ministry of Transport, the President is also opening up the slum by constructing access roads.
The project being implemented by the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (Kura) at a cost of Sh5.8 billion will see 408. 44 kilometres of roads set up to carbo or bitumen standards.
The upgrading of 408.44 km of roads will include 70kilometres in Mukuru , Dagoretti -30km, Kawangware- 22.6km, Kangemi-41km, Kibera-22.8km, Korngocho- 13.6km and Mathare-18.2km.
Roysambu 50.76 km of road will be upgraded, Githurai-57.48 km, Kasarani Mwiki 42 km and Dandora, Utawala, Mihang’o and Ruai will have 40km of road done.
Kura will also install the road furniture inclusive of walkways and cycle lanes where adequate space is available.
Most of these areas have suffered from poor road networks making accessibility of critical services and other essentials a challenge.
This has led to difficulties in emergency and disaster response including fire outbreaks and other emergency services hampered by inaccessibility
On completion next year in March, the project will be a game-changer in the slums that have suffered from poor road networks making accessibility of critical services and others.
Expressway
The major infrastructural project is the Sh65.2 billion Nairobi expressway which is currently 68.4 per cent complete.
Once complete in March next year, the project is said to be a game-changer to Nairobi which is already an international hub.
Although the project had been proposed 10 years ago, it was officially launched last year by President Uhuru Kenyatta
Traffic jams in Nairobi are now estimated to cost the Kenyan economy Sh100 billion every year, which would translate to about Sh11 million per hour.
However with the Expressway and the four by-passes that transverse through Nairobi, traffic jams will be an issue of the past.
According to Transportation and Infrastructure CS James Macharia despite the Expressway being the most complicated infrastructure project the government has ever done, its impact will be the advantage.
The project is a purely Public-Private Partnership with no debt incurred by the government.
China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), the parent firm of China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), which is funding and building the highway revealed in regulatory filings that the project's contract value is $668 million (Sh72.8 billion).
The figure is higher than the $599 million (Sh65.2 billion) initial budget estimate provided by the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHa).
The Expressway Project is a 27.1km road project beginning from Mlolongo through the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and Nairobi’s CBD to Westland’s area along Waiyaki Way.
The Nairobi Expressway will have a four-lane and six-lane dual carriageway within the existing median of Mombasa Road, Uhuru Highway, and Waiyaki Way as well as 10 interchanges.
The section between the Eastern and Southern bypasses will be a six-lane dual carriageway while the section from to the Eastern Bypass and that from the Southern Bypass to James Gichuru will be a four-lane dual carriageway.
Once complete, it will be the first expressway built in East and Central Africa and the second largest toll road in Africa after the Dakar Toll Highway.
The double-decker road is the equivalent of having half of the Thika Superhighway suspended above Uhuru highway and the city's main traffic artery.
Health
Health access and services have always been a challenge to residents living in slums.
This was due to the availability of hospitals which have been a headache to many residents.
As a result with a population of close to five million, 47 per cent of Nairobi residents used to rely on Kenyatta National Hospital as their first point of access for health services
With a vision to have accessible and affordable healthcare in slums, President Uhuru Kenyatta last year August directed NMS to construct 24 hospitals, where 19 facilities were to be built from scratch while five would be rehabilitated.
From the 19 to be built, 10 facilities will be Level 2 hospitals and the rest will be Level 3.
The new hospitals mostly located in informal settlements have around 2,000 health care workers to attend to the patients.
Upon completion, as of February this year up to date, 14 hospitals have been commissioned which has seen the number of patients reduce not only at KNH but also in Mbagathi and Mama Lucy hospitals.
The 14 hospitals include The Kibera Level 3, Undugu, Ng'undu Kamulu, Ngomongo and Zimmerman were commissioned last month.
Gichagi in Kangemi, Mukuru Kwa Rueben, Tassia Kwa Ndege and Our Lady of Nazareth in Mukuru Kwa Njenga were opened in July.
The Uthiru, Kiamaiko, Soweto-Kayole, Ushirika and Green Park hospitals were opened in February.
The team includes 179 doctors, 200 clinical doctors, 900 nurses, 100 health record officers, 100 laboratory technicians, 100 nutritionists as well as members of the support staff.
The 14 hospitals include Kibera Level 3, Undugu, Ng'undu Kamulu, Ngomongo and Zimmerman were commissioned last month.
Gichagi in Kangemi, Mukuru Kwa Rueben, Tassia Kwa Ndege and Our Lady of Nazareth in Mukuru Kwa Njenga were opened in July.
The Uthiru, Kiamaiko, Soweto-Kayole, Ushirika and Green Park hospitals were opened in February.
The intended number was 24 hospitals but in their capacity, NMS has increased to four new hospitals.
NMS Director General Lieutenant General Mohamed Badi revealed that through savings, they have built four extra hospitals in addition to the 24, which include the Green park dispensary
NMS is aiming to launch 13 remaining hospitals in the next two months, which will total the number to 28.
Edited by D Tarus