Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui this morning witnessed the launch of Standard Gauge Railway at Naivasha’s Mai Mahiu.
Addressing media on Wednesday morning prior to the launch, Governor Kinyanjui said the SGR will open up the sleepy town of Mai Mahiu to more opportunities of trade and business.
Although the town is a less than two-hours drive from Nairobi, many investors have been avoiding it, arguing that it is not economically viable.
Kenya Railways acting managing director Philip Mainga as quoted by Daily Nation confirmed the start of the passenger service but did not give details on the cargo freight.
“Passengers will start using the route on Wednesday,” Mr Mainga said.
The launch of the Nairobi-Naivasha has been muted unlike the Sh320 billion Mombasa-Nairobi line that was opened in May 2017 amid pomp in an occasion graced by President Uhuru Kenyatta and top Chinese officials at the peak of campaigning ahead of the General Election in August of that year.
According to Governor Kinyanjui, the establishment of the industrial park and dry port in Mai Mahiu will also help transform Nakuru into the largest, busiest and most preferred investment destination in the country.
He challenged businessmen and local residents to take advantage of the SGR, industrial park and dry port to establish services that focus on the entire country.
“The SGR will really help boost the economy not only for Nakuru but also for the entire nation. It will also create job opportunities for our youth with the man investors coming to Naivasha,” said Kinyanjui.
The Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) is a flagship project by the Government of Kenya as a transport component aimed at delivering Vision 2030 making Kenya a middle income country by 2030.
The new railway was designed with 12 railway stations, including five in Kajiado County, one in Kiambu, two in Nakuru and three in Narok County.
This line was to be linked with the old railway track after its revamp for seamless movement of cargo from the Port of Mombasa to Uganda.Official data showed that SGR generated sales of Sh5.7 billion last year on the back of the cargo business.
The passenger business generated sales of Sh1.61 billion, underlining the power of the cargo business in driving sales.