Kibaki launches new super highway

PRESIDENT KIBAKI FORMALLY COMMISSIONS KENYA’S FIRST SUPERHIGHWAY

The brand new 8 lane highway, connecting Nairobi with the municipality of Thika, was yesterday formally commissioned by President Mwai Kibaki, under whose leadership the project was launched in 2009. Highway construction and rehabilitation and major infrastructure projects like the expansion of aviation facilities across Kenya, not just at JKIA where Project Greenfield is now awaiting the ground braking by Kibaki before he leaves office, have become a hallmark of his presidency and something all Kenyans, even his political rivals, have admitted to. Major plans for new rail links, for the metropolitan area of Nairobi but also opening up links to Ethiopia and South Sudan, are in the making too and while traffic in Nairobi is still a daily nerve wrecker, there is now light on the horizon with the planned construction of the Southern Bypass and a ‘double decker’ across the city’s most congested Uhuru Highway.

Kibaki in his launch address also blasted criminals for looting lamp posts and railings from the newly constructed highway and other major roads around the capital Nairobi and his ‘encouraging’ words to the police yesterday will undoubtedly result in a few ambushes being laid and the criminals engaged in shootouts with predictable results.

Notably it was Chinese construction companies which brought in the project in record time, though not at estimated cost due to the major inflationary pressures over the past 18 months, a lesson however for local construction companies many of which in the past failed to complete projects or ‘ate’ their payments, then either producing shoddy work or not finishing their contracts at all. A series of other major overland highways, connecting to the Ugandan borders at Malaba and Busia, the Tanzanian borders at Taveta and Namanga and the Ethiopian border are presently also being planned, making road travel across Kenya in the future safer and certainly faster. Watch this space.

6 Responses

  1. That is what is expected from a patriotic leader. Leaders in african countries should emulate the work Kibaki has done to Kenya. There is nothing important in life other that doing good to the public or people. That is the legacy expected from any person. Kibaki is doing his part. More could have been done if Mzee Jomo Kenyatta and Mzee Da;niel Moi did their parts. Kibaki has brought pride to Kenya in particu;ar and Africa in general. Thanks for shining among the great.

  2. very nice and long time project that will now bring back Kenya to the road to prosperity indeed.one major concern is that Kehna(Kenya highway authority) and ministry of roads should have at least do, is educate the locals on importance of this road,widely and should have made it with ;talk shows,schools,media houses coz i was amazed by the fact most of the locals didn’t even know the president was commissioning this superhighway yesterday and more so never even bothered.these same locals should have been given an opportunity to be”involved” by having road shows,given gift,dangers(pros and cons) or even make them take this message home to those who would have attended this event.i tell you if not carefully addressed,sooner or later it will be embracing carnage simply of one not aware of the systems to follow on using this superhighway.
    concerned citizen
    tony