Chinese contractor China Road and Bridge Corporation has asked the High Court to throw out a petition seeking to stop the Riruta–Ngong Commuter Meter Gauge Railway Project, warning that any freeze on the works would trigger huge losses, contractual claims and leave taxpayers exposed.

In submissions filed before the court, CRBC says the petition by Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah and others is an attempt to drag the judiciary into policy and budget choices that fall within the mandate of the Executive and Parliament.

The company argues that decisions on how public funds are allocated to national infrastructure projects, including the use of the Railway Development Levy Fund, are matters of government policy and should not be overturned by the courts unless a clear constitutional breach is proved.

According to CRBC, it entered into a valid and binding commercial contract with Kenya Railways Corporation and has already committed substantial resources to the project, including heavy machinery, technical teams and construction materials.

The contractor says stopping the project at this stage would expose the government to compensation claims, contractual liabilities and avoidable costs that would eventually be shouldered by taxpayers.

CRBC further argues that the petitioners have not produced credible evidence showing any actual or imminent violation of constitutional rights. It says most of the allegations are based on media reports, speculative economic projections and assumptions about future public debt and taxation.

The company also dismisses claims that the project lacked proper public participation, saying similar issues on stakeholder engagement and environmental approvals had already been canvassed before the Environment and Land Court in previous proceedings.

CRBC told the court that the Riruta–Ngong railway is already about 40 percent complete, with major civil works undertaken along the corridor. It warned that halting the works now would leave behind unfinished infrastructure, create safety and environmental risks, cause job losses and waste billions of shillings already invested.

“The public interest lies in allowing the project to proceed to completion rather than suspending works after substantial resources have already been committed,” CRBC argues in its submissions.

The company maintains that the commuter railway is intended to ease traffic congestion and provide reliable mass transport within the Nairobi metropolitan region, particularly along the fast-growing Riruta, Karen, Bulbul and Ngong corridor.

CRBC accuses the petitioners of seeking to substitute lawful government policy choices with their own views on whether public money should be spent on rail or road infrastructure, saying such debates belong to policymakers and not the courts.

The contractor now wants the High Court to dismiss the petition with costs, insisting that the project is being implemented lawfully and that stopping it would cause substantial economic and public harm.

The petition challenging the Riruta–Ngong Commuter Meter Gauge Railway Project remains pending before the High Court.