Kidero unveils bold plan to rebuild city

Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero (left), County Executive incharge of land, housing and physical planning Tom Odongo (right) and JICA senior representative Koji Noda chat after the Nairobi integrated urban development master plan disclosure at Charter Hall on May 27 2014. PHOTO/PHOEBE OKALL

What you need to know:

  • The county hopes to provide its residents with enough water and avoid wastage as urbanisation takes shape, especially along the Thika Superhighway.
  • The plan calls for the establishment of an institutional system for waste management at the national level, noting that the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) has the responsibility to set up the national laws and regulations.

Poor infrastructure, waste management and water collection, are among the problems facing Nairobi.

The county government on Tuesday launched a draft master plan expected to tackle these challenges as the city seeks to become globally attractive.

The other headache for the governor and his team is lack of power to run electric trains.

The county hopes to provide its residents with enough water and avoid wastage as urbanisation takes shape, especially along the Thika Superhighway.

According to the Integrated Urban Development Master Plan for the City of Nairobi, the water pipelines, reservoirs and distribution networks, which are old and dilapidated, need to be rehabilitated.

Buildings have been constructed on pipelines while use of substandard material for portable water is common.

To reverse the situation, the development of a water supply system from the main reservoirs has started and should be completed by 2035.

The development is expected to be conducted in five phases with Phase One being the well field development in Kiunyu and Ruiru.

The second phase of the northern collector and the water supply system, including Ngorongo, have also commenced.

The city has a projected population of more than five million by the year 2030 — up from the three million recorded during the 2009 census.

GRIM PICTURE

Storm water in the city is collected through both natural and man-made drainage systems, and is drained into Nairobi River.

Now the county plans to develop Gitathuru, Ruai Ruaka, Nairobi and Ngong rivers for the management of storm water drainage.

“Each of these rivers should be equipped with hydraulic capacity sufficient to discharge the storm water runoff from its catchment area,” reads part of the report.

The urban development department of the county also wants to introduce equipment for the collection of rain water for uses other than human consumption.

Much remains to be done on this project, however, due to several drawbacks, including lack of information.

Most of the sewage from the city will be treated at the Dandora Sewerage Treatment Plant, which currently has inefficient and low treatment capacity, even after it was improved.

The report paints a grim picture and shows that only 35 per cent of effluent generated in Nairobi is conveyed to the sewerage treatment works, while 65 per cent is released into the environment without treatment.

The plan calls for the establishment of an institutional system for waste management at the national level, noting that the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) has the responsibility to set up the national laws and regulations.

“While the Environment Management and Coordination Regulations (2006) is the basic law in Kenya and the City Council by-laws of 2007 have been established, there are no specific regulations or guidelines for planning and operation of solid waste management at the national and county levels,” the report says.

The existing landfill of the Dandora dump site is poorly managed and the area is not designated a sanitary landfill. Waste disposal in the area has also exceeded design capacity for landfill operations.

The master plan recommends decommissioning the dumping site and the implementation of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) Preparatory Survey, 2012.

The survey recommended that the existing dumped waste be left where it is and not transported outside. It also recommends that waste located in private land adjacent to the project site be cleansed and transferred into the project site.

The cost of power

The county government also intends to cut the cost of power production, and has recommended to the power authorities that they review the demand projection.

The master plan says that excess forecast may lead to excess construction of power equipment leading to an increase in electricity cost.

Although the county hopes that electric trains will become a reality, it has not considered providing electricity for them. Commuter trains operating in Nairobi run on diesel.

“Diesel locomotives do not consume electricity, so there is no need to consider the electricity requirement for railways in the current situation,” says the report.

Traffic management

The transport plan proposes a multi-modal development. This includes the road network, public transport network and traffic management.

The plan identifies priority projects as a flyover, which is expected to link the CBD to the Railway Station, widening of the busy Enterprise Road, construction of a C-2 road in the Northern part, a new bus and matatu terminus and commuter train operations.

Infrastructure covers supply of water and power, storm water drainage and sewerage, power supply, solid waste management and telecommunications.