Construction starts on 30km Kinango-Kwale road
Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia addresses the press on the progress of the Sh24billion Mwache-Tsunza-Mteza project which he said will be complete by May 2022. He said once complete, it will transform the lives of the residents along the 17.7-kilometre stretch.
Construction of the 29km Kinango-Kwale road has started after the Sh3 billion contract was awarded to a Chinese company.
The road that links Kinango sub-county to the Kwale County headquarters is being undertaken by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation.
The Kenya National Highways Authority (Kenha) says the road is among other State-funded infrastructure projects in Kwale and other coastal counties that are expected to boost economic activities region and spur development.
Kenha Coast Regional Director Eric Wambua said that the contractor is on the ground mobilising resources and machinery.
“The construction works of the Kinango-Kwale road comes after the completion of the 50km stretch of the Kinango-Samburu road at a cost of Sh2 billion,” he said.
“The new road will connect Kwale County to the busy Mombasa-Nairobi highway at Samburu and the Likoni-Lunga Lunga road at Kombani, once completed.”
Mr Wambua spoke when he presented a report on the status of road projects in the area at a meeting of officials at the Kenya School of Government in Mombasa.
He said the project will transform the county by opening up remote areas and speeding up rural development.
Kenha, he noted, is alive to the economic impact of tarmac roads in the region and added that other projects completed include the Lunga Lunga-Vanga, Milalani-Shimba Hills and Kanana-Shimoni roads.
The government has invested heavily in building new roads and upgrading existing ones in the Coast region to improve connectivity and socio-economic activities including tourism.
The government is also keen to finish phase two of the Dongo Kundu section, which is expected to decongest the Likoni ferry crossing, whose notorious traffic snarls are blamed for slow economic activities and growth in the South Coast.
Ongoing infrastructure projects worth billions of shillings in Kwale and Mombasa counties are aimed at facilitating easy movement of goods, services and people and boost the region’s economy.
The 17.7km bypass is taking shape as the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation raced against time to complete it by 2024.
Work started in March 2020 against the backdrop of Covid-19 uncertainties.
The dual carriageway, expected to cost Sh22 billion, involves building an interchange at the Likoni-Lunga Lunga highway and two bridges one at Mwache and Mteza.
