Govt to tarmac 4,000km of road in four years, says Transport minister
Infrastructure PS John Mosonik (left), Kilifi North MP Gideon Mung’aro (centre), Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia and other senior government officials inspect the ongoing tarmacking of the 110km Malindi-Sala Gate road in Kilifi County. PHOTO | KAZUNGU SAMUEL | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- In the next two to three years, the country will see a total transformation of the road network, he pledged.
- He said the ongoing construction of the Malindi-Sala Gate road was possible due to support from local politicians.
- The Malindi-Sala Gate Road leads to the Tsavo East National Park.
- Mr Mung’aro said the construction of the road is dream come true for him since he had pushed for it while serving as the mayor of Malindi in the 1990s.
The national government plans to tarmac 4,000 kilometres of road in the country in four years, Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia has said.
Speaking over the weekend in Kakuyuni, Kilifi County after inspecting the tarmacking of the 110km Malindi-Sala Gate Road, Mr Macharia said 1,981 kilometres have already been tarmacked around the country in a record nine months.
The Malindi-Sala Gate Road leads to the Tsavo East National Park.
During the weekend inspection of roads in Kilifi and Lamu counties, Mr Macharia was accompanied by Infrastructure PS John Mosonik and Kilifi North MP Gideon Mung’aro, among others.
“The government is targeting to tarmac a total of 10,000 kilometres of roads in the country," Mr Macharia said.
"This is going to be a huge achievement for a single regime to undertake such a massive project. After independence all the other regimes only managed to construct 14,000 kilometres of roads.
"You can see how committed this government is in addressing infrastructure [issues] in the country,” he added.
Work in progress on the 110km Malindi-Sala Gate road in Malindi, Kilifi county. The Sh3.6 billion road is set for completion in 26 months. PHOTO | KAZUNGU SAMUEL | NATION MEDIA GROUP
NEW ROADS
He said the government will soon introduce another two batches of road construction aimed at making sure that every county benefits by getting new roads.
In the next two to three years, the country will see a total transformation of the road network, he pledged.
He said the ongoing construction of the Malindi-Sala Gate road was possible due to support from local politicians.
“Sometimes such projects fail to materialise in time if there is no support on the ground from the region's politicians. I want to thank Mr Mung’aro and his team who have really supported this project,” said Mr Macharia.
Mr Mung’aro said the construction of the road is dream come true for him since he had pushed for it while serving as the mayor of Malindi in the 1990s.
“For me, this is dream come true. Those who knew me while [I was] serving as a mayor [will remember] I really fought for this road to be tarmacked.
I did that because this road will provide easy access to tourists on transit to Tsavo East National Park. It will also [enable] farmers to take their products to market in time,” he said.
