Eng. Abdulrashid Mohamed said the roads being undertaken by KURA would have walk ways for pedestrians, unlike the ones done by the county government. [Photo/world nomads]
The Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KURA) will spend Sh7 billion to improve urban road projects in ten county headquarters.
Acting General Manager Abdulrashid Mohamed says KURA was improving the roads to bitumen standards within the selected towns with a view to spurring economic growth, adding that the first phase of the projects would be completed in the next thirty says.
Eng. Mohamed, who is in charge of special projects said the projects would open up the areas for agriculture, tourism and industrial growth among others.
“Under the programme, KURA is doing ten projects in Hola, Wote (in Makueni), Mokowe (in Lamu), Bungoma, Bomet, Eldoret, Kitale, Kapenguria and Maua,” he said adding, “This is going to cost about Sh7 billion.”
Speaking while inspecting one such projects within Hola Town in Tana River County, Eng. Mohamed who was accompanied by some board members, said the projects were part of the 10,000-kilometer low volume seal road projects promised by the national government.
He however dispelled claims that the projects were a ploy by the national government to hoodwink Kenyans into voting for the Jubilee Party during the August 8 polls.
“This programme was has been in our plan since 2013, but it is only recently that we completed the procurement process, which is a very tedious job,” Eng. Mohamed said.
He said the Hola Township Road project will cover 10 kilometers at an estimated cost of Sh450 million, 1.8 kilometers of which had already been opened and are expected to be complete within the next 30 days.
He said KURA had planned to tarmac roads within the town centre, “but the County Government of Tana River constructed them as we were still going through the procurement process, forcing us to come and identify other roads.”
“Our work is complementary and we want to expand the road network within the town to attract investments,” he said.
Eng. Mohamed said the roads being undertaken by KURA would have walk ways for pedestrians, unlike the ones done by the county government.
The Hussein Dado-led county government constructed the first ever tarmac roads in Hola Town at an estimated cost of Sh450 million between 2014 and early last year. The project was officially commissioned by President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2016.