Work set to begin on major Kenyan highway

The Kenyan government has announced that work on the 170-kilometer-long Rironi-Naivasha-Mau Summit road will begin on November 28.

President William Ruto, who labelled the dual carriageway as one of the most transformative infrastructure projects ever to be undertaken by the East African nation, said it will assist traffic decongestion along a critical stretch of the northern corridor linking the capital Nairobi to the west of the country.

The Chinese government-backed project is also expected to alleviate high transport costs and frequent accidents that have long plagued the route. The China Roads and Bridges Corporation, a subsidiary of the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), will break ground on the major project next Friday.

"Infrastructure development in our country has made a huge leap forward courtesy of the strong and deep relations between Kenya and China and Chinese companies," read a statement from Ruto following his meeting with CCCC President Zhang Bingman at State House in Nairobi.

Over the past decade, Chinese companies have completed a number of major construction projects in Kenya, including the Standard Gauge Railway, the Nairobi Expressway and hundreds of kilometers of roads across the country.

In his statement, Ruto referenced a number of other ongoing Chinese-assisted projects, including new stadia, convention centers and roads across Kenya.

Ruto added that key projects in the pipeline include extension of railway lines to Kisumu and Malaba and the construction of Galana Dam in Tana River County to bolster water security and support agricultural production.

victor@chinadailyafrica.com