By May, the civil works for the project was already 80 per cent complete with laying of tracks so far covering distance a of 280 kilometres from Voi to Sultan Hamud.
The government has already started the acquisition of locomotives, passenger coaches and wagons for use on the track. Mr Nyakera said 56 locomotives are set to be delivered from China before the end of the year.
Of the 33 railway stations under construction, he added, some have already been completed.
These include 23 passing stations, eight intermediary stations and two major stations to be built in Mombasa and Nairobi.
Mr Nyakera said the government was fast tracking the construction of the inland container depot in Nairobi with the ground breaking ceremony expected to take place in September.
Kenya Railways Corporation and Ministry of Transport teams are currently conducting due diligence on the railway operator in China and Australia.
John Holland, an Australian firm which is set to operate the line became a subsidiary of China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) following an acquisition deal finalised in 2015.
“We expect President Kenyatta to officially commission the project on Madaraka Day of 2017, by boarding a train in Mombasa,” he said.
Design stage
Mr Nyakera said the government was implementing the second phase of the project from Nairobi to Mombasa, adding it was currently planning the 120 kilometre- route.
“We plan to hold the ground breaking ceremony for the construction of the line from Nairobi to Naivasha in October this year,” he said.
The PS added that the second phase would cost the exchequer a total of $1.5 billion (Sh150 billion).
For the Nairobi commuter railway project, he said, the ground breaking ceremony will take place next month.
The commuter railway project will cover a distance of 20.5 kilometres from Nairobi’s central business district to areas near Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
“The designing of the Nairobi commuter railway project has already been completed and we expect the construction to begin soon,” he said.
For Mombasa, he said, the commuter railway project was still at the design stage, adding that plans were underway for the project to take off.
The commuter railway line in Mombasa will start from the old Kenya Railway station at Majengo to Miritini.
“The commuter railway line in Mombasa will cover about 13 kilometres from the Island to mainland West,” he said.
Source: Business Daily
