Nasa pledges to implement eight new mega projects

The National Super Alliance has pledged to implement eight new mega projects, about the same number the Jubilee Party is promising.

The information is contained in the two political groups' respective manifestos.

While Nasa has insisted that it would not concentrate on flagship projects but come up with developments that benefit a larger number of people, a separate document on implementation contains specific proposals on giant infrastructure works that would require massive financial investment.

Specific brick and mortar projects outlined in the document posted on the Nasa website include a high-speed commuter train network for Nairobi. In 2016, the Planning ministry estimated that a similar project it was working on would cost Sh16 billion.

Nasa also pledges a 1,043-kilometre road linking Moyale and Garissa through Mandera and Wajir. This, it says, would connect northeastern Kenya to the rest of Kenya and eradicate the regions’s historical isolation.

The 526-kilometre Isiolo-Moyale road cost about Sh15 billion to build, meaning the one linking Moyale to Garissa would possibly cost double this amount, Sh30 billion.

For Mombasa residents and tourists who have to wait for hours to cross the Likoni channel using ferries, Nasa has pledged to put up a bridge.

This, it says, would be under a public-private partnership.

In April last year, it was reported that the Japan International Cooperation Agency was considering financing the construction of a bridge over the Likoni channel. The cost had not been established. In January, Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho said the national government had frustrated plans to put up the bridge.

According to Mr Joho, the French government was willing to finance the construction, only for the government to later engage the Japanese.

COMPLETE ROADWORKS

The coalition led by Mr Raila Odinga also promised to complete work on a series of roads linking counties close to Lake Victoria. The initiative is known as the Lake Victoria Ring Road project.

Among its other notable pledges on infrastructure is the expansion of the Mombasa-Malaba highway into a four-lane dual carriageway. That would mean adding two more lanes to the 942-kilometre highway.

Nasa’s big plans on energy include replacement of diesel-powered electricity generating plants with natural gas and renewable power plants.

The work would require significant capital.

GAS PLANT

Specifically, the coalition pledged to construct a 1,000-megawatt gas plant in Lungalunga, Kwale. The cost of these plants was, however, not established.

Both coalitions have promised to build 500,000 affordable homes across the country in five years.

The Jubilee Party pledges to expand the Nairobi-Mombasa highway to six lanes, to be paid for through road tolls.

The party says the expanded highway, together with the new standard gauge train, would transform the 450 kilometres between the two cities into a large and vibrant economic zone.