THE ROAD TO ADDIS ABABA – SLOWLY BUT SURELY BECOMING REALITY
(Posted 11th April 2015)
A generation old road project, to link the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa with East Africa’s main cities through a tarmacked highway, is progressively gaining shape as major sections of the new highway are now complete or nearing completion.
Landlocked Ethiopia, which lost access to the sea when Eritrea gained independence and has since, as a result of hostile relations, had to resort to using the port of Djibouti, has long sought to open up alternate and safe routes to other ports. While a railway line is planned as part of the LAPSSET project, which is due to link the new port of Lamu with South Sudan and Ethiopia, is it at present the link by road which connects Ethiopia with Kenya.
On the Kenyan side are the two remaining stretches of the new highway, financed at a cost of over half a billion US Dollars by the European Union and the Kenyan government, well underway, linking the Northern Kenyan towns of Isiolo and Marsabit with the border town of Moyale. The section between Marsabit and Moyale in fact is expected to be formally commissioned by middle of this year leaving then only one stretch of road under construction, some 86 kilometres between Isiolo and Marsabit starting from Merille. That part is according to information received from Kenya due for completion by mid-2016, then closing the remaining gap in what will be an all tarmac highway from Mombasa, via Nairobi to Isiolo, Marsabit and on to the border with Ethiopia.
On the Ethiopian side is according to reports the tarmac highway already complete just waiting to be linked to the Kenyan portion before finally, a generation old dream to link the wider Eastern African region with a major highway, will become reality.
A one stop border post will, like between the East African Community countries, make transit of cargo and people easier and facilitate an increase in trade and travel.
