Enter the floor of the Rift Valley [I]

As has been the norm Chinese State media has repeatedly used the Mombasa- Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project as a showcase for the Belt and Road Initiative (Bloomberg Inc), this as there are cases about the load of unsustainable debts being weighed on the country’s economic advances. This remains a suitable solution even as China remains the single largest financier of infrastructure in Africa, funding one-in-five projects and constructing every third one, according to a Deloitte report.

But the second phase of the SGR project whose destination is at the border of Kenya and Uganda, is that it hasn’t yet reached its intended destination. Instead, the railroad ends abruptly by a small village town 100Km west of the Kenyan capital Nairobi, at a little known town of Suswa. This has brought in questions about its viability and the possibility of the extension of the network by using the old narrow railway line. Indeed there have been a lot of talking points about the project, and that is what is expected from such a big and phenomenal project.

 For engineers from the AAK who toured the phase 2A of the SGR project, as part of their #EngineersAAKBuildTour program themed vital infrastructure, had a lot to appreciate the structural ingenuity of the project. The infrastructural designs and project management synchronization between all the stakeholders and the project team really stood out. The project team of the phase 2A of the SGR project includes a consortium of consultants.

An introductory fact spelt out was that the electrification of the SGR will be as a way of reducing carbon fuel emissions by steering away from the use of diesel powered engines to use of electrified engines. The design speed will remain between 120Km/hr t0 150Km/hr and can only be achieved by cargo transport than by passenger commute, whose will be maintained at 120Km/hr according to the project’s design speed.

The no. 200 pillars that lined a 6.7Km path crossing the Nairobi National Park, was the first mark of an incredible project lined up as the railway line leaves the Nairobi Terminal and immediately crosses the Nairobi National Park. The construction of the line crossing the national park was done in a record 6 months period, and the choice of the route was based on the shortest route to cross the park. This part of the project wasn’t without objection from the environmentalists, wildlife conservatoires and like-minded noble citizens who wanted the national park to remain unscathed of the rolling steel and concrete line.

The debate was diverse, informative and engaging with both sides of the divide of those who put the wildlife and environment first, and those who saw a way in which there can be a natural co-existence between the gray and green infrastructure hell bent to agree on a solution that somewhat favored the latter. The railway line crossing the Nairobi National Park shall in memory time remain a point of reference and research as there will be changes in the already existent Eco-system despite the artificially engineered solutions such as painting the pillars and tracks in jungle green colorful art and the design considerations of designing the shortest bridge according to the height of the tallest giraffe with a factor of safety that will allow passage of the wildlife.

Some other fact is that the profitability and the return of investments and revenue generation of the SGR solely rely on the use of cargo transportation as compared to the passenger fares. The SGR can solely run on the cargo systems than on the passenger system to remain profitable. Indeed, this was clearly put out to have the conversation move from the Nairobi National Park, to the first passenger station at Ongata Rongai. The SGR stations have been architectural marvels that require more recognition, as the architects in the project put in the consideration of the cultural and social existence of the communities and the natural wonders existing in the places. For instance the Ngong railways station whose depiction is that of an eagle.

The ground bearing capacity for the project was a challenge not to be ignored the engineers clearly had to adopt to the limited piece of land to establish their long pillars some of which were as long as 42 meters and above. Pilling foundations were dug over 30meters to reach the bed rock and also a combination of open foundation where the ground was more stable. Concrete also played a defining role, and the introduction of Class 52.5N of cement which required local producers to invest in more advanced machines that could grind it to finer particles.   

Across the new phase 2A SGR network there are clear signs of which the project posed risks to the displacement of people and properties, including schools, established businesses and economic investments. People livelihoods were transformed by displacements by the project, despite the compensation in monetary form, homes neighbourhoods and communities were forced to adapt to the changes. The effect of the sudden and immediate needs to see the success in the project caused less social benefits to the communities near the railway line than the overall benefit the project will have to the country’s economy.

This compensation mechanism by the National Land Commission and the Kenya Railways put less consideration on the effect on the individuals and favored the many. The balance of democracy and the rights of an individual were by no consideration even in law weighty enough. As good project management practice, stakeholder engagement and risk analysis is very important. Therefore, these knowledge areas of project management were left to the capitalistic pronunciations of money. And money can go a long way, just...

The design life of the SGR is 100 years, in the generation from this our generation of millennial, there will be something to remind them that we was a significant part of history.