Kenya sets aside KSh 25 billion to compensate people affected by Narok–Bomet–Kisumu section of the SGR extension being built by Chinese firms

The Kenyan government has set aside KSh 25 billion (about US$192 million at the Central Bank of Kenya's rate of KSh 129.91 to the dollar, posted on 9 October) to compensate people affected by the construction of the Narok–Bomet–Kisumu section of the Naivasha–Kisumu–Malaba Standard Gauge Railway extension, the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) reported on 9 October 2026.

Kenya Railways Corporation Managing Director Philip Mainga said, as quoted by KBC, that the National Land Commission (NLC) is holding public participation before landowners are compensated. He said the NLC has also given Kenya Railways early access to some sections of land.

KBC reported that the affected landowners have said they are willing to take part in the public participation and to work with the government to keep the compensation negotiations smooth.

The railway will cover about 98 kilometres in Narok County, according to KBC. The wider line passes through Bomet, Nyamira, Kericho, Homa Bay and Kisumu counties.

Speaking during a public participation session, Stephen Ruto of Kapkesosio village said, as quoted by KBC, that the community welcomes the project. He said it would connect Bomet County to the rest of the country, the East African region and beyond.

KBC reported that President William Ruto launched construction on 19 March 2026. The project is expected to take about two years, and the Narok station is expected to be partially complete by June 2027.

Mainga said the project is being developed as an SGR Economic Belt, with logistics hubs and value-addition facilities planned along the corridor, according to KBC. In Narok the focus is to be on agriculture, livestock and tourism, in Bomet and Kericho on tea logistics, and in Kisumu on fish storage and distribution.

KBC said the railway is expected to carry locally produced goods, including tea, coffee and sugar, to the Port of Mombasa for export. It said the project, part of the government's Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda, is also expected to create jobs and support small businesses.

People Daily reported on 1 July 2026 that the project was launched on 19 March at Narok Teachers Training College Grounds, and named the contractor as China Communications Construction Company. The Kenya News Agency reported on 2 July that the government had awarded the contract to the Chinese firms China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) and China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC).

People Daily said Kenya Railways and the NLC had held public participation forums with Project Affected Persons on land acquisition and compensation. It said the extension's Naivasha–Kisumu section includes a spur line to Kisumu Port, and that a further section is to run from Kisumu to Malaba on the Uganda border.