Key projects launched as part of Belt and Road Initiative

Editor's note: A survey among China Daily's overseas readers ahead of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China shows that the nation's ecological progress, economy, diplomacy, science and technology, and the Belt and Road Initiative are among some of the most closely observed issues. China Daily is publishing a series of special articles to offer readers an in-depth look at these topics.

Kiprogei Murrey, a taxi driver in Nairobi, often spent an hour and a half making a 20-kilometer journey from the Kenyan capital's main airport to the city center.

"Traffic is very congested in Nairobi. In the evening rush hour, there are many problems. You can get stuck for at least one hour," he said.

Murrey, 27, regularly picks up passengers from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and takes them to the Westlands area in the city center.

To his delight, the journey time has been cut to just 15 minutes since the end of July, with the opening of an expressway linking the airport to the central business district — the first toll road in Kenya.

"The expressway is very convenient," Murrey said. "It saves us a lot of time and fuel, which is becoming much more expensive. I now use the expressway every day to go to the airport to pick up my passengers."

Despite having to pay a toll, many commuters in Nairobi are using the six-lane expressway to avoid traffic congestion, especially during the evening rush hour, Murrey said.

The 27-km Nairobi Expressway, the latest major Belt and Road Initiative, or BRI, infrastructure project in Kenya built by a Chinese company, was completed within two years, winning high praise from local residents for significantly easing the long-standing problem of serious traffic jams in the city.

During the opening ceremony for the expressway on July 31, Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, the former president of Kenya, said it would facilitate transportation and increase productivity for Nairobi, and create more business opportunities for Kenya's tourism, conference and hotel sectors.

"This singular project secures Nairobi's status as capital and economic nerve center, strengthening Kenya's position as eastern and central Africa's commercial and diplomatic hub," Kenyatta said.