Kenya has inked a Ksh.8.7 billion ($60 million) agreement with the Millennium Change Corporation (MCC) of the United States to finance the purchase of electric buses for Line 2 of Nairobi's Bus Rapid Transit system.
On Tuesday, President William Ruto met with MCC CEO Alice Albright in New York to sign the agreement.
He stated that the Kenya Urban Mobility and Growth Threshold Programme will assist Kenya in dealing with traffic congestion in the Nairobi Metropolitan Area.
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President Ruto said that Mobility is very important to us in Nairobi. The city has a population of 5 million during the day and 4 million at night, implying that 1 million people visit daily, creating a tremendous challenge to the infrastructure. The bus transport system is a critical component.
MCC is a US government agency established by Congress in 2004. According to the corporation's website, it collaborates with "the world's poorest countries that are committed to just and democratic governance, economic freedom, and investing in their populations."
The directors' board of the Washington, DC-based organization decided in December 2019 that Kenya was entitled to launch a second threshold program.
According to MCC, the signing on Tuesday came after several years of collaboration on project design.
The threshold program aims to help Kenya address insufficient connectivity in urban areas, a major impediment to inclusive economic growth.
The Integrated Transport Planning Project, the First and Last Mile Connections Project, the Detailed Land Use Project, and the Blended Finance for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Project are all part of the program.
Kipchumba Murkomen, Cabinet Secretary for Roads and Transport, stated in late July that the government planned to restart construction on the halted BRT project in two months.
Murkomen stated that his ministry was in talks with the Treasury to get funds to complete the project by December next year.
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