Kenya-Ethiopia road to kick off

The long-awaited construction of the Kenya-Ethiopia highway is set to commence in the next fiscal year which starts in July, director-general of Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) Meshack Kidenda said on Wednesday.

The project — one of amongst a large number of infrastructure projects set for the fiscal year 2009/10 — will be funded by African Development Bank (AfDB) and European Union.

According to the official, once completed the road will enhance trade between Kenya and Ethiopia and open up the arid northern frontier of Kenya. Besides, the project will create thousands of jobs in the area once it kicks off.

“The Merire-Isiolo-Moyale highway is a major priority to us and we will ensure that it is within the time limits set by the government,” Mr Kidenda said. He was speaking in Nairobi before ahead of a tour of Central, Eastern, Rift Valley and Nyanza to inspect status of highways.

At the same time, Mr Kidenda urged the provincial administration to help protect road signs in the country. He said vandalism of the hardware was a major cause of accidents, which must be curbed at all cost. “It is a pity that only 10 per cent of road signs are now available in our highways, a situation that triggers accidents on our roads,” Mr Kidenda said.

He announced that Sh23 billion of the funds set aside for infrastructure development during the June 11, 2009, Budget presented by Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta will be used to fund construction of new roads and maintenance existing ones.

“The business community and Kenyans demand and should get good roads. These, we will give them,” Mr Kidenda said. The authority is preparing to launch a strategic plan on how best to manage roads in a bid to improve