Garissa County will be among counties in North Eastern that are set to benefit from the upgrade of the 748-kilometre Isiolo-Garissa-Mandera road in the region.
Governor Ali Korane said the procurement of the road project which will ease transport to the arid North Eastern that has remained inaccessible will begin immediately.
“We signed an MoU between our counties and Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure, Housing, Urban Development and Public Works. We mutually agreed to waive cess on materials for the upgrading of B9- the 748km Isiolo-Mandera road to bitumen standard. Procurement for the road project to commence immediately,” posted Korane on Facebook.
The five counties that signed a memorandum of understanding on waiver of construction materials with the Roads ministry include Garissa, Wajir, Mandera, Marsabit and Isiolo.
The Frontier Counties Development Council (FCDC) chairman Ali Roba (Mandera Governor) said the project will open up North Eastern which has remained isolated economically due to lack of roads and other infrastructure.
“This is a very emotional project as explained by my fellow governors who acknowledge the impact this road will have on our socioeconomic status. This project will be a landmark in President Uhuru Kenyatta’s regime in terms of development since he was responsible for initiating the collaboration between the Government and the World Bank,” said Roba.
The road project will also involve laying out a 748km fibre optic cable between Isiolo and Mandera to improve internet connectivity to the area residents.