The construction of the Sh78 billion Kenya-Tanzania highway is planned to kick-start late in 2018. The African Development Bank (AfDB) has already set aside about Sh30 billion for the construction of the Malindi-Bagamoyo highway. Other partners will fund the deficit.
“We are looking for partners to bridge the remaining Sh48.5 billion required to complete the transnational highway,” Lawson Zankli, AfDB’s chief regional program officer said late last year.
The Malindi-Bagamoyo highway will be 445 kilometres long and it will pass through Mombasa and Lunga Lunga in Kenya and Tanga and Pangani in Tanzania.
The transnational highway will entail the rehabilitation of the 250-kilometre Malindi to Lunga Lunga road. Additionally, the 175-kilometre section that connects Tanga to Bagamoyo road will be improved to bitumen standards.
The construction of the highway, which will enhance transport along the Kenyan-Tanzanian coastline, will be finished in 36 months.
“The improved infrastructure will help in easing movement of tourist along the Kenya-Tanzania coastline,” Zankli said.
The project portfolio for African Development Bank in Eastern Africa stood at Sh900 billion in November last year, making it an important player in the regional infrastructure sector. For instance, AfDB funded the construction of the Arusha-Namanga-Athi River road, which was completed in 2012, and the Arusha-Holili-Taveta-Voi road.
