Chinese company to build special lanes for Nairobi's transit system

Stecol Corporation, a Chinese engineering company, has a $52 million contract  to construct special lanes for high-capacity buses through the Nairobi's city center and the Thika super-highway starting next month.

Stecol will build construct Nairobi's long-awaited Bus Rapid Transit, or BRT system, which is expected to support the city's jammed public-commuter services and help ease traffic congestion.

Charles Hinga, Kenya's principal secretary for housing and urban development, said Tuesday that the system will consist of more than 100 buses operating on dedicated lanes on the Thika super-highway through the Nairobi city center to the Kenyatta National Hospital area.

"We signed the contract last week and the contractor is mobilizing to commence next month for the first phase which should be done after eight months," Hinga said.

He added that the new mass transport project would involve dedicating the two innermost lanes of the highway to special high-capacity buses and erecting boarding ramps to ease access to the buses. The buses will be run by private operators but regulated by the Nairobi Metropolitan Area Transport Authority.

Kenya's implementation of the BRT system follows its neighbor Tanzania whose Dar es Salaam BRT system began operations in May 2016. The construction of the BRT system in Nairobi is expected to transform public transport for the city that is a major East African economic hub.