Plan to build Sh35m arch, offices in Nandi approved

What you need to know:

  • Facility will be used to market tourist attractions.
  • Governor tells reps opposed to project that it will create 200 jobs for youth.

The highways agency has allowed Nandi County to construct an arch, offices and a petrol station on its border with Uasin Gishu County at a cost of Sh35 million.

In a letter to the county, dated May 22, Kenya National Highways Authority acting Director-General L.K. Tonui says the devolved unit can start putting up the arch at Mlango Trading Centre on the Eldoret-Kapsabet highway.

The authority, however, warned the county government against using the arch for commercial advertisements.

Last week, the county assembly rejected a proposal to include a Sh20 million allocation for the arch in the 2015-2016 financial year. The amount was in addition to the Sh15 million passed in the last financial year.

MARKET ATTRACTIONS

Members of the county assembly argued that the arch would not add value to the region and further allocation of funds to the project was a waste of public funds.

But on Saturday, Governor Cleophas Lagat said the county would use the arch to market its 66 tourist attractions.

He said the Sh35 million would not be for the arch alone but also a documentation centre, a tourism and information centre, a petrol station, a car park, curio shops and an administration block. They are set to be built on two acres.

He said the county bought the land using the Sh15 million allocation in last year’s budget. He added that the other Sh20 million would be sourced from donors.

“The facilities, once completed, will add value to the county. Leaders who are against the plan should support it as it will create 200 jobs for the youth,” said the governor.

Dr Lagat spoke at Chepkit Waterfalls in Nandi North Sub-County.

During debate on the 2015-2016 budget in the assembly last Tuesday, Chemundiu Ward Representative Joseph Too and other leaders demanded an explanation on the gate’s importance to the county.