By Metros Reporter
The Nairobi Metropolitan Mass Rapid Transit System (NMRTS) has taken another major step forward after senior officials from the National Government held high-level meetings to accelerate implementation of the ambitious transport project, just one day after the Nairobi County Executive approved its concept.
The meetings highlight growing cooperation between the National Government and Nairobi City County as Kenya moves closer to delivering what could become the country’s largest urban transport investment.
Dr. Silvester Kasuku, Advisor on Governance in the Executive Office of the President, met Transport Principal Secretary Mohammed Daghar to discuss the project’s progress and the next stages of implementation.
He also held talks with Roads Principal Secretary Eng. Joseph Mbugua, where discussions focused on the role of the State Department for Roads in delivering the project.
The officials reviewed plans covering the design of major road corridors, interchanges, bridges, utility relocations, pedestrian and cycling infrastructure, and how the new transport network will connect seamlessly with other modes of transport across the Nairobi Metropolitan Area.
County approval
The implementation meetings followed the Nairobi City County Executive Committee’s approval of the NMRTS project concept during a meeting chaired by Governor Johnson Sakaja.
The approval marked one of the biggest milestones since the project was unveiled, paving the way for detailed planning and eventual construction.
The NMRTS is a joint initiative between the Executive Office of the President and the Nairobi City County Government. It seeks to build a modern, integrated, safe and environmentally sustainable public transport system serving the wider Nairobi Metropolitan Area.
Ending costly traffic jams
The project is designed to tackle Nairobi’s worsening traffic congestion, which currently costs Kenya’s economy an estimated Ksh130 billion every year.
Officials warn that without major transport investments, those losses could exceed Ksh1 trillion annually by 2063 as the city’s population continues to grow.
The planned rail-based mass transit system aims to replace long daily commutes with faster, more reliable and high-capacity public transport.
Many Nairobi residents currently spend between 2.5 and 3.5 hours travelling to and from work each day.
According to project estimates, reducing travel times could recover about Ksh53 billion in productivity annually—equivalent to nearly 68,000 full-time jobs or around 0.9 percent of Nairobi’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Economic transformation
Beyond improving transport, officials believe the project will stimulate economic growth by attracting private investment, lowering logistics costs, creating thousands of jobs and encouraging transit-oriented developments around stations.
The government also expects the project to strengthen Nairobi’s position as East Africa’s leading financial, commercial and innovation hub.
Cleaner and greener transport
The NMRTS is also expected to deliver major environmental benefits by reducing dependence on private vehicles, cutting greenhouse gas emissions and improving air quality.
Officials say the system will provide safer, more affordable and accessible public transport while reducing road accidents, easing commuter stress and improving the quality of life for millions of residents.
Preparing for future growth
Nairobi’s population is projected to grow from approximately 5.1 million today to 11.5 million by 2063.
During the same period, daily travel demand is expected to increase from around 12–13 million trips to between 33 million and 36 million trips.
Governor Sakaja described the NMRTS as more than just a transport project, saying it is a national development programme that will boost productivity, attract investment and support the government’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), Kenya Vision 2030, and the African Union Agenda 2063.
With both the National Government and Nairobi County now working together, implementation of the Nairobi Metropolitan Mass Rapid Transit System is gathering pace, bringing the capital closer to a modern metro network that could transform how millions of people move around the city every day.
