The hard infrastructure options for Kenyan cities

An underground train station in Germany. Should we too go underground? [XN Iraki]

In the German city of Hamburg, the preferred mode of transport is the subway, or underground train. There are buses too and no matatus. A big U indicates a train station. The train’s departure time and destination are indicated.

Once on the train, a public address system reminds you of the next station, which is also displayed on the screens. 

I learnt the importance and convenience of the subway when its workers went on a 48-hour strike. Uber charges went up, and walking reminded me of my humble roots. In the subway, there is no worry over rain, snow or pollution. Underground trains are electric and fast. In Vancouver, Canada, and Washington, in the United States, the railway or trains are in the sky, elevated. 

Kenya’s transport ambitions are unlimited, but we have taken too long to realise them. We prefer to implement the “soft” options like the new constitution, health and education systems, from A-level to Competence-Based Education (CBE). The soft options are best espoused by the percentage of students taking social sciences, about 75 per cent in our universities. CBE intends to flip that. Hope we are willing to invest in science, technology and sports. 

Till we got the SGR and expressway, our “hard ambitions” were limited. The railway had remained the same for a century.  It seems the “hard bug” has caught up with us.

The 2027 effect? Rironi-Mau Summit road, SGR to Kisumu, expressway to Thika and the long-awaited Lapsset project. By the way, can Garissa become an inland port along the River Tana? 

As we pursue our hard ambitions, one question lingers: should we go underground like a subway or in the air, like an expressway?

China seems to prefer elevated roads and railways. The West and Europe underground. It seems the East-West divide never goes away. Elevated roads save precious land and have a political advantage; we can see them! Underground is just that. 

From a technological point of view, underground might be more expensive. Think of excavating black cotton soil.

Where would we damp it? Nairobi is swampy, and that complicates matters further. Noted damping soil from excavations is becoming an issue in Nairobi.

Did the planners of the city foresee the age of underground trains?

Where will the stops be? We even have a scarcity of space on the ground. It is curious that our cities are younger than European or American cities, yet they have poorer designs.

Should they not have improved on what is on the ground?  Don’t we improve on our parents’ houses? That is not surprising. Githurai or Mlolongo are newer than Muthaiga or Karen. Which estates are well planned?  In urban planning, we are yet to get the iPhone moment.

Back to transport and logistics. Even before we go to the dichotomy of elevated roads, rails, or going underground, we need to integrate air, water and road networks. In Hamburg, you can use the same ticket on the ferry, bus or train, after all, they are owned by the city of Hamburg.

In Kenya, we are convinced that the private sector can take care of all transport. My experience in developed countries suggests we need some public input. Remember the Kenya bus service? Who owned it? Private and public sectors should check each other to increase efficiency.  Clearly, the location of Nairobi city and its initial planning will logically lead to elevated roads and rails.

Expressway led the way. Were cable cars once on the way? 

The new elevated roads and rail should be integrated into air transport.

We could also make the Nairobi River navigable! In addition, the age of diesel trains is long gone, just as the internal combustion engine days are numbered.

I fear the fuel tax may give it a longer life. Did the prospects of electric cars make the Kenya Pipeline Company’s initial public offering harder?

Big question

One bigger question in our quest to attain hard ambitions is who should fund the new infrastructure. Private or public sector? The simple answer is both. 

The hard answer is that we seem to be shifting more towards the private sector.

The concept of private goods is slowly being diluted. Water, health, security, education and now roads can now be provided by the private sector.

This raises the big question. If the government’s key justification for its existence was the provision of public goods, what would be its new justification if such are provided by the private sector?  

As we decide to go under the soil like moles or in the air like birds, we must address the hard political questions.

With the Social Health Authority and the new education funding formula, we thought the pendulum had finally moved towards soft options.

But the allure of hard options seems to strong. You can guess why. What keeps me awake at night is that little foreign direct investment goes into soft options like education or health.

What is SGR or expressway equivalent in education or health?