The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a US government foreign assistance agency, has given Kenya a grant of $60 million to improve urban connectivity to help lift economic growth.    

The money will be used to improve planning for accessible and safer transportation in the capital Nairobi and provide the transportation needs of pedestrians, specifically women, the US Embassy in Nairobi said in a statement.     

“This grant from MCC to the Government of Kenya is the largest and one of the most ambitious threshold programs that MCC has ever implemented with a partner country,” it’s CEO Alice Albright said. 

The agreement was signed by Albright and Kenya's President William Ruto in New York, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meetings.  

"An efficient public transport system improves economic productivity," Ruto said on X, the messaging platform formerly known as Twitter.      

The money will also finance the acquisition of climate-friendly buses for a rapid transit bus network planned for Nairobi, the US Embassy said.

Created in 2004, MCC provides time-limited grants and assistance to countries that meet certain standards for good governance, fighting corruption and respecting democratic rights. 

(Seban Scaria seban.scaria@lseg.com)