Ngong Road traffic to ease as expansion starts

The county of Nairobi is losing Sh147.67 billion annually due to traffic gridlocks reflecting a major impediment to economic growth.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   President Uhuru Kenyatta said the city of Nairobi is heavily congested and that roads take the biggest share on public expenditure.

”For a good number of years our investment in our infrastructure in our capital city has not matched the growth in our city and that lack of investment has been expensive,” said the President during commissioning of the Ngong Road Phase 1 dual carriage project..

The president said the on-going infrastructural projects will bring the country close to 10 percent annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth since roads are key to national prosperity.

“Kenyans will not have to endure endless hours in traffic every morning and evening, much of our cargo will also move by rail rather than road freeing up space for motorists. Farmers will also be able to sell their meat and other agricultural produce right across the country and be able to follow market need,” he added.

The country’s infrastructural projects have been on an upward trajectory with key focus on roads that will assist in decongesting the city.

The new 2.57 kilometers dual carriage road is expected to ease traffic snarl-ups between the  west side of the city of Nairobi, the central area and the east side.

The dualing of Nairobi- Dagoretti corner road project cost Sh1.5 billion and was fully funded by grant aid scheme from the Japanese government through Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA)

The construction progress is at 5 percent and is expected to be completed in 31^st July 2017.

Other key infrastructural projects in place include the Mombasa port renovation, the Standard Gauge Railway line (SGR) and the roads in the northern part of Kenya.

The Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) is working closely with development partners such as African Development Bank (AfDB), European Union, Japan Government, People’s Republic of China and the World Bank to give the country world-class infrastructure.