Panel Registers Request for Inspection of the Nairobi Metropolitan Services Improvement Project

The Inspection Panel on May 13, 2019, issued a Notice of Registration for a Request for Inspection of the Nairobi Metropolitan Services Improvement Project in Kenya.

The project was approved on May 10, 2012, for a US$300 million equivalent International Development Association Credit to the Republic of Kenya. Its development objective is to strengthen urban services and infrastructure in the Nairobi metropolitan region.

The Panel received a Request for Inspection of the project on April 12, 2019, from three residents of the Muthurwa area of Nairobi who asked that their identities be kept confidential.

The Requesters’ concerns relate to plans to redevelop the area in which they live. They allege, among other things, that such plans are being financed under the project and will result in evictions of community members and the demolition of cultural and historical facilities, which they claim are of “sentimental value” to the community members. 

The Panel’s registration implies no judgment concerning the merits of the Request. Bank management has 21 business days, until June 12, 2019, to provide the Panel with a response to the issues raised in the Request. More