- 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.
The fundamental idea behind the Kenyan government’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) programme is inclusive and green mobility. Thanks to a grant of €347.6 million (50.1 billion Kenyan shillings) from the European Union (EU) as part of its $150 billion “Global Gateway” program, which aims to finance sustainable infrastructure around the world, construction on the third line of this electrified public transportation system is scheduled to begin in the second half of 2023.
The goal is to transport 300,000 people from Nairobi to Mombasa, a city in the southeast. The first line, in use since 2022, travels 45 kilometers from the Kenyan capital to the planned industrial metropolis of Thika.
The finance deal was recently signed in Brussels, Belgium, on the sidelines of a meeting between William Ruto, president of the Republic of Kenya, and Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission. The third BRT route “would improve passenger safety while reducing travel time, pollution, and traffic incidents.
The EU and the Kenyan government, who have already released €66.3 million, have offered extra funding, and other development partners have already made similar commitments (Kshs 9.6 billion). Together, the European Investment Bank (EIB), the French Development Agency (AFD), and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), which is providing technical assistance through the German Agency for International Development Cooperation (GIZ), have pledged € 236.3 million (Ksh 34.1 billion).
The Kenyan Treasury is currently putting together tax incentives for reductions in taxes and customs duties on “the importation, local assembly, or marketing of electric vehicles” that will be included in the 2024 Budget Bill. In order to limit the use of thermal vehicles, which are the source of air pollution in this East African nation, the policy, if enacted, should initially support the installation of at least 350 electric automobiles and bicycles.