Repair works for the 240-km old Nairobi-Nanyuki railway line has started in Laikipia County as the government seeks to spur economic growth in central Kenya.
The Sh3 billion rehabilitation works of the metre-gauge railway line will take five months, according to Kenya Railways.
The railways corporation has already injected Sh1 billion into the project with the rest to be provided by the national government.
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Laikipia Governor Ndiritu Muriithi, who briefed the press at his Nanyuki office, said that the works will be undertaken in three stages in order to speed up the process and have the railway line ready for use by the end of May, 2020.
Mr Muriithi said that one group will work on Nanyuki-Marua section, the second group on the Marua-Sagana section while the third will rehabilitate the Sagana-Thika stretch.
The project, he said, is set to benefit the 11-million litre Nanyuki Petroleum depot operated by Vivo Energy that serves parts of eastern and northern Kenya.
A spot check at the Nanyuki terminus revealed that works had commenced as local youth contracted by Kenya Railways seen clearing bushes along the line to pave way for engineering works.
Governor Muriithi said that cohorts from the National Youth Service (NYS) and technicians from the Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) would be deployed later once bush clearing is complete.
The KDF and NYS technicians will take up the technical aspects of railway repair works.
