Offer land for key transport corridor, county leaders urged
What you need to know:
- Mr Muthaura said surveyors had been sent to the counties to mark the areas the transport corridor will pass through.
- “County governments are indispensable partners in making this project economically viable. We can hasten its completion if we synergise our resources,” said Mr Muthaura.
- He said part of the Isiolo International Airport extends into Meru County. The airport will handle passenger and cargo planes. Livestock, horticultural and miraa farmers are set to be some of the biggest beneficiaries of the airport.
- At the same time, the demarcation of the Isiolo-Meru boundary is yet to start despite assurances by President Uhuru Kenyatta that the government would fast-track it.
Twelve counties through which a key transport corridor will pass have been asked to offer resources to help fast fast-track the project.
Lamu Port-South Sudan- Ethiopia Transport (Lapsset) Corridor Development Authority Chairman Francis Muthaura asked the devolved units to provide land, one of the most crucial factors in the realisation of the Sh1.5 trillion project.
Mr Muthaura said surveyors had been sent to the counties to mark the areas the transport corridor will pass through.
“County governments are indispensable partners in making this project economically viable. We can hasten its completion if we synergise our resources,” said Mr Muthaura.
He spoke during a Lapsset stakeholders’ consultative meeting at Slopes Hotel in Meru County yesterday.
The chairman said the counties were in a better position to identify economic resources that would sustain the project.
He urged counties such as Isiolo, Marsabit and Turkana to set up abattoirs and processing plants to add value to livestock products. He said this would enable them to fetch a lot of money in international markets.
ISIOLO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
Mr James Wachira, a Lapsset board member and chairman of the Strategy Development Committee, said Meru is one of the devolved units set to benefit from the corridor.
He said part of the Isiolo International Airport extends into Meru County. The airport will handle passenger and cargo planes. Livestock, horticultural and miraa farmers are set to be some of the biggest beneficiaries of the airport.
Mr Jonathan Lodompui of Vision 2030 said insecurity in the 12 counties should be addressed for the project to succeed. “A security master plan is important to dispel fears among investors,” he said.
At the same time, the demarcation of the Isiolo-Meru boundary is yet to start despite assurances by President Uhuru Kenyatta that the government would fast-track it.
Yesterday, Meru Governor Peter Munya raised concern over the delay, saying it was hampering development in the disputed regions.
