NAIROBI, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Construction of Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) phase 2A project linking Kenya's capital Nairobi to the resort town of Naivasha has entered the final phase and the one-month test was launched from September, according to the constructor China Communications Construction (CCC) on Tuesday.
The 120-km modern railway is part of the railway network in east Africa, extending Mombasa-Nairobi SGR.
The modern railway line whose construction kicked off in October 2016 snakes through picturesque landscapes that include a wildlife sanctuary, grasslands and escarpments.
It has five stations for picking and dropping passengers alongside the longest railway tunnel in east African region measuring about 4.5 kilometers.
A 6.5-km-long super bridge along Nairobi national park has been constructed to ensure SGR phase 2A does not interfere with ecological health of the famous wildlife sanctuary.
So far, major civil works in the modern railway line that involve laying of tracks and construction of five intermediate stations has been completed, while the final construction phase involve fencing and installation of signal system.
More than 500 local youth have benefitted from gainful employment during construction of the railway line that is expected to have a positive impact on strategic sectors of Kenya's economy like agriculture, tourism and manufacturing.
Kishao Ishmael Tuta, a 28-year-old business and IT major, said that youth from the native pastoralist communities along the SGR phase 2A corridor, have benefited from well-paying jobs.
"The economic status of local youth has greatly improved thanks to job opportunities that arose since the construction of SGR phase 2A began," said Tuta.
