By Emmanuel Nduka
The British Government-backed UK Export Finance (UKEF) has delayed a £100m ($121.9m) payment for the development of Nairobi Railway City in Kenya.
This is UK’s largest investment in Kenya since Brexit. The block comes after Kenyan authorities failed to award contracts to developers.
The development may also instigate difficulties in doing business in Kenya, and discourage inteinvestor participation in infrastructure projects, according to analysts.
The £100m for the urban development project, hoped to rejuvenate the area around Nairobi’s Central Railway station, accounts for approximately half of the total funding for phase one.
The Nairobi Railway City is an iconic multi-modal urban development situated within 425 acres between Haile Sellasie Avenue, Uhuru Highway, Landhies Road and Bunyala Road.
Last year, the Kenyan government released the master plan of the proposed Nairobi Railway City, which seeks to expand and decongest the Central Business District.
