KENYA: The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office is planning to procure a technical assistance contract for Nairobi Railway City project to redevelop the city’s station as a state-of-the-art multimodal transport hub and revitalise the rail corridor within the central business district.
The chosen contractor would support Kenya Railways by providing strategic oversight of the project, including leadership and stakeholder management to ensure effective delivery.
The contract has an estimated total value of £9m and would run from June 1 2026 to May 31 2028, with a possible extension to May 31 2030.
The FCDO has not yet determined the route to market for the contract, and will use market feedback from a preliminary market engagement process running to December 19 2025 to inform its decision.
Nairobi Railway City
The Nairobi Railway City Central Station & Public Realm Project approved by the Kenyan cabinet in July this year includes a new station building, nine platforms and access bridges to support projected footfall of 400 000 people/day by 2030 and 600 000 by 2045.
The station would be a hub for bus rapid transit, commuter rail services and a standard gauge railway connection to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. Public realm improvements would aim to attract private investment in transport-oriented development on underutilised land to spur economic activity.
The project is drawing inspiration from the regeneration of London’s King’s Cross station and its surroundings, which President William Ruto and senior officials visited this year. The UK government funded a team of urban development experts to support the Kenyan government with planning, and in 2022 UK Export Finance signed a memorandum of understanding for the potential financing of infrastructure projects starting with the station; this would require UK content amounting to 30% to 40% of the total design and construction cost.
