Former presidential candidate Prof James Ole Kiyiapi has welcomed a move by the government to revise the design for JKIA-Westlands expressway to leave out Uhuru Park.
The initial design showed the Sh61 billion project would hive off parts of the famous recreational park in the city.
Kiyiapi; an environmental scientist, hailed the move but questioned why the government was in a hurry to construct the multi-billion four-lane dual carriageway, when it was struggling to repay debts amounting to trillions it owes domestic and foreign markets.
"We welcome the news that expressway will be redesigned so that it does not touch Uhuru Park. This park will endear, it is for posterity. Another critical question: Yes, the expressway may be justified but must we build it now, now, with heavy debts hanging over us?" Kiyiapi posed on Thursday.
In a statement, Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia said the design for the expressway was redesigned to preserve Uhuru Park for posterity.
“We all recognise that Uhuru Park is an important public park and it is one of the remaining parcels of green areas within Nairobi that needs to be preserved for posterity,” he said on Thursday.
The 27km road will be fully funded by a Chinese firm which will recover its investment using road tolls.