French President Emmanuel Macron has bowed to President Uhuru Kenyatta's pressure to speed up the completion of the JKIA-Nairobi Commuter Rail project.
Uhuru was speaking at the One Planet Summit at the UN Complex Gigiri on Thursday, where he urged the French president to ensure that the contractors finish the job in two years rather than the proposed 10.
“Lecture them to finish the project in two years and not ten,” President Uhuru told Macron.
“Our target is to have 500,000 urban commuters moving freely daily within the next 12 months. This number will grow to over a million commuters daily within the next five years,” he added.
President Macron yielded and stated that he would follow up with those in charge and make them adhere to Uhuru's deadline.
“By the end of 2021, this new connection will be possible,” the French Head of State reassured.
He expressed confidence that the firms were well equipped to undertake the project.
President Macron cited the firm's experience adding that they would offer both software and hardware to the project.
He promised to work with Kenya to provide mobility solutions for Nairobi. Both presidents recognised that trade between the two countries would be a win-win situation.
Another deal, which will cost over Ksh180 Billion, will be the establishment of a modern highway from Nairobi into the Mau regions.
