22/01/2020
*STATEMENT BY GOVERNOR MWANGI WA IRIA ON THE REVIVAL OF NANYUKI - NAIROBI RAILWAY.*
The rehabilitation of the 240 KM Nanyuki - Nairobi Metre Gauge Railway by President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Government is not only timely but historic. This follows the release of of Kshs. 3B for the works to Kenya Railways. I take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to President Uhuru Kenyatta for this noble initiative.
The Railway will re-open and recalibrate a major trading corridor within Mt. Kenya region is ways unheralded. Following the death of the Rail line, most if not all trading nodes along the corridor suffered a slow but agonizing death. Traders suffered, businesses closed down and unemployment thus poverty set in. But that now is bound to change as the once vibrant towns like Maragua, Sagana, Karatina etc seek to regain their lost stature and glory.
The rehabilitation of the railway line will culminate into the rise of new business opportunities along the corridor like hotels, malls, resorts etc. thereby creating employment to our youths. There will also emerge new modern produce markets along the corridor where our farmers can trade their commodities with assured cheap transport.
The rehabilitation of the railway line will also give credence to the establishment of Special Economic Zones *(SEZs)* in places like Ruiru, Thika, Maragua, Kandundu or Sagana. These zones will serve as employment as well as technology transfer hubs for our young generation.
The renaissance of sleeping towns like Maragua and Karatina will see a rise in property values as well as act a driver of the real estate development sector. This is a big plus as the accrued spiral in terms of employment and businesses will be so huge. Also, most of our towns are located within our major roads. The Railway will see the emergence of new hinterland towns thus creating value to land and contribute to better livelihoods.
The Railway will cater for our bulk agricultural produce. This is a big score to our agriculture sector. It will also lead to the reduction of road accidents as it will act as a supplement to the road transport. The reduction in accidents reduces financial, health and psychological costs.
The rehabilitation of the this line comes after President Uhuru’s Government recently launched the 540 KM Mau Mau Road linking Kiambu, Murang’a, Nyeri and Nyandarua Counties which is another great project worth mentioning within the region. These projects besides other numerous projects started by President Uhuru within the region will go a long way in not only immortalizing his legacy but also serve as launching pads for the region’s great economic take off.
I therefore urge Cabinet Secretaries in other line ministries to take advantage of these backbone projects to launch economic projects and programmes that ensure optimal utility of these projects. I especially challenge the Cabinet Secretaries for Agriculture and Trade to rise up to the occasion to identify, revive and initiate construction of markets like India, Vietnam, China, Thailand and Indonesia have done. The two should also partner to ensure vibrant and well managed cooperatives are established to help farmers pool resources and mitigate risks. By doing so, they will have not only lived to the region's but their appointing authority's expectations.
Just like the Thika Superhighway and other hinterland infrastructural developments are opening up trade opportunities, let the Railway create new opportunities with the support of National Government through respective line ministries and our County Governments
*Again, Thank You H. E. President Uhuru Kenyatta*
