The China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) has revealed that it will complete the first and the longest railway tunnel ever in Kenya by August this year.
The tunnel which is 4.5km long is located at Em-Bulbul in Kajiado County on the 120km Nairobi-Naivasha section of the standard gauge railway (SGR).
CCCC spokesperson Steve Zhao released a statement on Wednesday giving an assurance that the construction engineers are working around the clock to ensure that the tunnel will be complete in 5 months.
“So far 1.2km is complete from the exit end, 0.8kmfrom the entry side of the tunnel and 0.5km from the mid- section. The construction is taking place simultaneously to ensure that we complete the work within the stipulated time,” said the statement.
The Em-Bulbul tunnel which is the longest of the three tunnels set to be constructed on the Nairobi-Naivasha SGR section at a cost of Sh150 billion is also the second longest railway tunnel in Africa. The other two tunnels will cover 1km and 1.64km.
The construction which started in January this year is expected to be completed within 2019. There are plans to extend the SGR to Kisumu at a cost onceSh150 billion once the construction is complete.