UK engineering, design and project management company Atkins has been commissioned by Kenya to design the Rail Transit System (RTS) for the proposed Nairobi Railway City in a deal that seeks to push forward the much-delayed mega project.

According to a statement from the British High Commission in Nairobi, Atkins has been tasked with designing Nairobi’s new Central Train Station and associated public grounds, which will provide the masterplan for the Nairobi Railway City.

The RTS contract is the first major local deal for Atkins, which acquired Kenyan engineering company Howard Humphreys East Africa in March 2016 in a strategy aimed at making Nairobi its African hub for property, energy and infrastructure deals.