The European Union (EU) is committing €347.6 million to finance the third line of an electrified bus system to link Nairobi to other cities in Kenya and East Africa. The project, which will be completed by 2030, will incorporate technological solutions to address traffic congestion and related air pollution.
Inclusive and green mobility. This is the essence of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project implemented by the Kenyan government. Work on the third line of this electrified public transport system is due to start in the second half of 2023 thanks to a €347.6 million (50.1 billion Kenyan shillings) grant from the European Union (EU) as part of its $150 billion “Global Gateway” program, which aims to finance sustainable infrastructure around the world.
The European Union commissioner for International Partnerships @JuttaUrpilainen together with the Cabinet Secretary of the Kenyan Ministry for Roads & Transport @kipmurkomen signed the declaration of intention to finance the Nairobi Core Bus Rapid Transit for Ksh. 50 Billion. pic.twitter.com/txppj6WGzQ
— EUinKenya (@EUinKenya) March 31, 2023
The aim is to serve 300,000 passengers from Nairobi to the city of Mombasa in the southeast. The first line, operational since 2022, runs from the Kenyan capital to the future industrial city of Thika over a distance of 45 kilometers. Eventually, the project will link Nairobi to Kinsangani, the fifth largest municipality in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with 1.3 million inhabitants. The BRT will be managed by the Nairobi Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (NaMATA).
The financing agreement was signed recently on the sidelines of a meeting in Brussels, Belgium, between Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and William Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya. The third BRT line “will reduce travel time, pollution and traffic accidents while increasing passenger safety. The buses will run on green electricity generated in Kenya. A project team will be responsible for setting affordable fares and including access to the public transport system for youth, women, low-income households and people with disabilities,” the EU says.
Developing green urban mobility
Other development partners have also pledged additional support to that of the EU and the Kenyan government, which has released €66.3 million (Kshs 9.6 billion). The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the French Development Agency (AFD) have jointly pledged 236.3 million euros (Kshs 34.1 billion), as well as the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), which is providing technical expertise through the German Agency for International Development Cooperation (GIZ).
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Meanwhile, the Kenyan treasury is preparing tax incentives to be submitted in the 2024 Finance Bill for lowering taxes and customs duties on “the importation, local assembly or marketing of electric vehicles”. If adopted, the measure should initially encourage the introduction of at least 350 electric cars and bicycles in order to reduce the use of thermal vehicles, which are the cause of air pollution in this East African country.
Benoit-Ivan Wansi
