Tourism sector upbeat as Sh4.1bn road project starts

Infrastructure Principal Secretary John Mosonik (front) and a team of engineers tour phase one of the Dongo-Kundu highway project at Bonje on January 15, 2017. PHOTO | LABAN WALLOGA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Most tourists visiting Malindi use the road to get to Tsavo for game drives as it is a shorter route than the Malindi-Mombasa Highway.
  • Infrastructure Principal Secretary John Mosonik said a 10km section would have been tarmacked by end of February.
  • Hoteliers and tour operators are upbeat that the Malindi-Sala Gate Road would boost tourism in Kilifi and Taita Taveta counties.

The construction of a major road in Kilifi key to the revival of tourism has begun.

The tarmacking of the 117km Malindi-Sala Gate road, at the cost of Sh4.1 billion, brings hope to tourism stakeholders as it links the Malindi resort town to Tsavo East National Park in Taita-Taveta County.

Most tourists visiting Malindi use the road to get to Tsavo for game drives as it is a shorter route than the Malindi-Mombasa highway.

President Uhuru Kenyatta launched the project in September last year and it is expected to be completed in October 2019.

The carpeting of the road is among projects being implemented by the government through the Kenya Rural Roads Authority’s 10,000 low volume seal roads programme.

Infrastructure Principal Secretary John Mosonik said a 10km section will have been tarmacked by the end of February.

He added that much progress would have been made were it not for some villagers who had encroached on road reserves.

“About 30 villagers at Kakuyuni took the government to court demanding compensation despite having built houses on road reserves,” said Mr Mosonik.

The construction of the road, he added, is also facing another challenge from the Malindi airport.

“The airport’s runway is being extended by a kilometre and it will cut through a section of the Malindi-Sala Gate road,” said the PS.

“As a result, a 10km diversion must be created to link the road with the Malindi-Garsen road and connect it to a junction at Ganda,” he added.

Mr Mosonik said when the tarmacking of the road is completed, it would boost agriculture and socio-economic activities in Kilifi County.

The road, he added, would be key for transporting produce from the Galana/Kulalu irrigation scheme and help farmers from Lango Baya, Chakama and Jilore easily access markets in Malindi town.

The PS spoke to the Nation at the weekend after inspecting the Malindi-Sala Gate road.

Hoteliers and tour operators are upbeat that the Malindi-Sala Gate road would boost tourism in Kilifi and Taita-Taveta counties.

“We also expect the road to uplift domestic tourism as local tourists from Nairobi will take a short time to drive from Voi to Malindi rather than the longer route to Mombasa,” Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers branch chairman Philip Chai said in an interview with the Nation.