A Ksh75 billion key road linking the port of Mombasa to Tanga has been delayed due to a change in design from single to dual carriage way along a section of the transnational highway.
The African Development Bank (AfDB), the principal financier of the 445-kilometre project, said last week that Nairobi was slow in completing preliminary studies such as road designs to pave the way for construction.
AFDB has committed to financing 70% of the project while Kenya & Tanzania will jointly fund the remaining 30% subject to costs in their respective territories. The project has been delayed several times since 2016 when it was supposed to start. AFDB now expects the project to start in 2019 because Kenyan Government says it will complete the studies by August.
“Tanzania is moving faster than Kenya, but since it is a multinational project, the two countries have to come together,” Gabriel Negatu, the AfDB director-general for business development and delivery in East Africa, was recently quoted by a local publication.
“Once the detailed designs are done, then we will proceed either this year or next year.” Mr Macharia, Kenya’s Transport minister said.
The Kenyan section of the transnational highway starts in Malindi through Mombasa on to Lunga Lunga border with Tanzania, a distance of 250 kilometres that largely involves rehabilitation of the existing road. It will then cross into Tanzania through the Tanga port and stretch 175km southwards to Bagamoyo..
