State has spent Sh100bn to build roads in Nyanza
President Uhuru Kenyatta, Transport CS James Macharia (left) and Kenya Rural Roads Authority (Kerra) Acting Director-General Philemon Kandie (centre) during the commissioning of the Kodaga-Wagau-Akala road in Siaya County.
The national government has spent over Sh100 billion to build roads in Nyanza since 2013.
According to Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia, President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration will by next year have completed more than 11,000 kilometres of tarmacked roads countrywide.
“The road projects we are implementing in Nyanza region are part of the government’s strategy to boost the profile of Kisumu City, enhance the economic fortunes of Nyanza, and facilitate trade in Lake Victoria,” he said, adding that the government is implementing many road projects across the country to transform the lives of Kenyans by improving inter-county business ties and opening up remote areas. The projects, he further explained, are expected to serve as enablers of the Big Four Agenda and the Vision 2030 economic blueprint.
World Bank
Roads that have been completed include the Kisumu Northern Bypass project, which comprises the Kisumu Northern Bypass from Mamboleo junction on the Kisumu-Kakamega road through Kogony, Kanyakwar and Korando and ending at Otonglo (B1) on the Kisumu-Busia road. This section is eight kilometres.
The road was jointly financed by the national government and World Bank to the tune of Sh2.6 billion. The Northern Bypass project also covers the entrance to Kisumu International Airport to Kisian Junction on the Kisumu-Busia road. This section is 7.4 kilometres and includes a two-lane (seven-metre-wide) second carriageway from the entrance to the airport to the Kisian junction.
In Kisii and Nyamira, the government has spent Sh1.9 billion on the Mogonga-Kenyenya-Riokindo-Magenche-Mariba-Nyagancha-Ebegere-Daraja road, Sh2 billion on Marani road and Sh547 million on the Mosobeti-Kebirigo road in Nyamira.
The projects here include improvement of the 172-kilometre Ahero-Kisii-Isebania road and upgrading of 77 kilometres of feeder roads.
The government has also been doing ancillary works to improve community water supply and building roadside markets.
The highway and ancillary works were done between 2016 and 2019 at a cost of Sh30.2 billion.
The transit route runs along the eastern shore of Lake Victoria via Isebania to Lokichogio and onwards to Juba and the main trade route between Mwanza port (Tanzania) and Kisumu port (Kenya). In 2015, Kenya National Highways Authority began to widen the road to 11 metres with shoulders, culverts, drainage channels, passing lanes, bus stops and access roads in urban centres.
In some sections, the road was widened to a dual carriageway. The entire project is budgeted at Sh4.7 billion.
The reconstruction of the Kisumu-Chemelil-Muhoroni road, also known as the Nyanza Sugar Belt Road, which links Kisumu city to Miwani, Kibigori, Chemelil, and Muhoroni towns in Kisumu and Nandi counties, started late last year.
Kisumu-Kakamega road
Construction works have started at the Kisumu-Kakamega (A1) road intersection at Mamboleo in Kisumu and will progress through Miwani, Chemelil and Muhoroni, eventually terminating at the Kapsitet junction, where it joins the Kericho-Kisumu road.
The scope of works will mainly involve the resurfacing of the road to Class II bitumen standard. Other improvements include the widening of the road to 11 meters, along with the construction of shoulders, culverts, drainage channels, passing lanes, bus stops and access roads in urban centres.
In some sections — for example from the Mamboleo (A1) intersection to Great Lakes University — the road will be widened into a dual carriageway.
Upon completion, the 63km road project is expected to open up the region, which has largely been closed for decades after motorists abandoned the motorway, opting for the smoother Kericho-Kisumu road that passes through Awasi and Ahero. This will ultimately improve trade in the western region and beyond the border to other East African countries.
The road is also expected to significantly reduce travel time between Kisumu, Nandi and Kericho counties, thus ensuring faster accessibility and delivery of services.
The government has also been working to improve the port of Kisumu and to rehabilitate the meter gauge railway from Nairobi to Kisumu as well as promoting the use of rail ferries to improve access to markets in Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and the DRC.
