Ichaweri in Kiambu County to benefit from Sh11bn road project

President Uhuru Kenyatta’s village, Ichaweri, is set to benefit from an Sh11 billion project that will upgrade sections of the highway that connects Kiambu and Thika roads into a dual carriageway.

The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) has started design work on the 62-kilometre road that is set for completion by June 2022 — two months before the end of Mr Kenyatta’s second and final term.

The road runs from Kiambu Road through Kirigiti, Ngewa, Ichaweri, Gatundu and Mang’u to Thika Road, according to KeNHA.

Ichaweri, a small village on Kenyatta Road in Gatundu South, is the rural home of two of Kenya’s presidents — the incumbent and his father Mzee Jomo Kenyatta.

ENGINEERING DESIGN

“The government has earmarked funds through the development vote for use in engaging the consultancy services to undertake preliminary and detailed engineering design, environmental and social impact study, preliminary and detailed engineering design of Kiambu – Ngewa –Kibichoi (B30) Road,” says an environmental impact assessment (EIA) report seeking approval of the project.

Members of the public have 30 days from last week to give comments on the project ahead of KeNHA tendering for contractors.

The upgrade is split into five divisions. The 12-kilometre stretch from Kiambu Road to Ngewa will be turned into dual-carriageway while the 36-kilometre route from Ngewa to Gatundu through Ichaweri and Mangu will be single carriage. The last 14 kilometres from Mang’u to Thika Road will be dualled.

This will make it the biggest road project in Gatundu since President Kenyatta came to power in 2013. He won a second and final five-year term that ends in August 2022.

Local politicians belonging to a faction of the ruling Jubilee Party loyal to Deputy President William Ruto have in the past attacked the administration’s development record in Central region, claiming the region has been marginalised.

Central, alongside Rift Valley, voted overwhelmingly for President Kenyatta in 2013 and 2017.

“The growth of existing market centres along the road corridor — Ngewa, Riobai, Komothai and Gatukuyu — will lead to increased job opportunities and economic activities of the people which will contribute to economic growth within these trading centres,” says the EIA report.

The upgraded road is expected to further spur the growth of real estate in Kiambu which is within the Nairobi Metropolitan Area. Coffee sector authorities have in recent years been alarmed at the rate in which farms on the outskirts of the capital city are giving way to apartment blocks or high-end gated communities.

STIMULUS PACKAGE

The EIA says the Sh11 billion road will end traffic snarl-ups that are currently common on the Kiambu-Ngewa and the Mang’u-Thika sections due to increased residential property developments hosting people who work in Nairobi and neighbouring townships.

The upgrade of the road comes at a time when the government is implementing a multibillion-shilling economic stimulus package unveiled in January to jump-start the economy.

The package is aimed at widening the market and offering better produce prices to tea, coffee, milk, rice and potato farmers, sub-sectors that are critical in putting money in peoples’ pockets, thereby improving their purchasing power and boosting other sectors.

The choice of key cash crops in Mr Kenyatta’s bailout suggests the President is keen to calm the restive Central and Rift Valley regions—his political bedrock—that has suffered the brunt of the sluggish economic activity and reduced cash in circulation.

The bulk of Kenya’s tea, coffee, milk, rice and potatoes are produced in those regions.

This was first published in the Business Daily.