The new design, which was completed by Atkins UK and handed over to Kenya Railways and the Ministry of Transport, is part of the wider Nairobi Railway City redevelopment programme, championed by President Kenyatta and supported by the UK government.
Speaking during the launch and handover event the UK prime minister’s G7 sherpa Jonathan Black said: “Great cities like Nairobi will need to become more climate-resilient, but also more climate-friendly – less carbon intensive to build, to travel around, and to live in. That is why it is such a pleasure to be here today for the launch of the design for the new central station and public realm that will sit at the heart of Nairobi Railway City.”
Design director for Atkins Chris Crombie said: “Nairobi Railway City is a hugely important, flagship project in the heart of the city and the gateway to East Africa. The design and vision we have created, working alongside Howard Humphreys, is a real case study example of how to create transit-orientated development with climate adaptation built in. The railway city project will support the Kenyan government in its commitment to deliver jobs, as well as green and sustainable infrastructure that drives regeneration.”
Nairobi Railway City is designed to be a climate-resilient project delivering transport capacity to sustain future growth and lay the foundations for a Green City of the Future.
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The Nairobi Railway City and Central Station project involves the redevelopment of 425 acres of central Nairobi. Sustainability is at the heart of the design with extensive use of local and low-embodied-energy materials to reduce embodied energy. The station will also adopt passive and nature-based solutions to minimise energy use in operations. This includes: up to 11,000m2 of photovoltaics to generate energy for the station and surrounding areas; extensive rain and surface water harvesting which will be stored in natural flood areas and attenuation tanks to supply water to the station and reduce the load on the municipal storm water system.
UK deputy high commissioner and development director Julius Court said: “Nairobi Railway City is a flagship project in the UK-Kenya Strategic Partnership which was agreed by UK prime minister and president Uhuru Kenyatta during the Africa Investment Summit in 2020. Today’s event is a true sign of our growing strength and integration of the UK’s infrastructure offer to Kenya and the UK’s commitment to the Build Back Better World and Clean Green Initiative delivering investment into clean and green infrastructure.”
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