The Kenyan government has developed a plan for a new metropolitan Nairobi, aimed at making the capital city an African diplomatic hub and a trade centre.
Nairobi Metropolitan Minister Mutula Kilonzo said the Kenyan engineers and economic researchers are working out an elaborate blueprint, seeking to utilize Nairobi's proximity to the intra-African highway, the northern corridor, to grab the attention of the world and make Nairobi rich.
Kilonzo said the transformation into a metropolis, bringing together more than 15 towns and municipalities within a 40km radius, will begin soon after the enactment of a new law, authorizing the transformation.
"We are working with all local authorities, the ministry of local government and the stakeholders but the law is inadequate," the minister told a media briefing in Nairobi late Tuesday.
Kilonzo said that two international organizations have expressed their willingness to lend 80.4 billion shillings (about 1.17 billion U.S. dollars) to Kenya for the upgrading of Nairobi as a modern metropolis.
The minister said he was in talks with his Lands counterpart James Orengo to set aside 100 acres within the metropolitan area for the development of a flower wholesale shop.
This, he explained, would be part of a plan to create a wholesale market within the city. Observing that the small and medium Enterprises would not be left out in the development of the metropolis, Kilonzo said an agency would be set up to deal, manage and promote small businesses across major towns.
Kenya's economic and social think-tank, the National Social and Economic Council (NESC), which comprises distinguished international experts from Britain and the Far East, has recommended the creation of the new metropolis to re-position Kenya.
Nairobi is banking on its central location within the global air transport network and the northern corridor, which officials hope would put the city on a fast-track to become the fastest growing air transportation hub and a logistics centre for the region.
"There is thus a huge opportunity here to transform Nairobi into regions and the continent's diplomatic hub," according to the blueprint, dubbed Nairobi 2030.
Kenyans are also angling for a share of Africa' s growing enterprise in research and education. The thinking is to make Nairobi the centre of attraction for researchers taking cross-border studies.
There is a plan to create areas within the Metropolis designated as education, industrial and diplomatic centres. For the first time, the government is planning to leave Nairobi' s business centre to be used as the financial hub for the region.
Education and research, officials say, is more lucrative, given the current drive towards a knowledge based economy.
"We will provide facilities for them to exploit their desire for enterprise because they are part of us and we will embrace them in our plan," Kilonzo said.
He called on all Kenyans to support him in fast-tracking the implementation of the programs. "The time to catch up is now. The rest of the world will not wait for us to reach 2030. In fact some of these countries are already copying our proposals because we have been slow in executing them," he said.
Kenyan urban planners believe the designation of some of the areas in the Metropolis as educational hubs would enable Kenya to earn a share.
Kilonzo, who hopes to see the laws authorizing the formation of the metropolis would be ready by October when the Kenyan parliament resumes sittings, said the 15 municipalities would be migrated into the new metropolis.
"This is not easy, it is a balancing act," said Kilonzo, who leads the third force in the unity government formed after the post-election violence in the East African state.
Nairobi's population is presently estimated at 3.05 million people.
The officials at the Nairobi Metropolitan ministry also said the city is currently facing a poor service delivery record, usually blighted by congestion during peak working hours.
The congestion, officials say, is resulting from heavy traffic, which also leads to poor health. The delays as a result of congestion is also leading to huge lose to businesses.
Source:Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article