AfDB APPROVES $123 MILLION FOR MOMBASA-MARIAKANI ROAD

Trucks held up in traffic at Miritini on the Mombasa-Mariakani road. The road is set for an upgrade to dual carriage.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a $123 million loan to Kenya for upgrading 41.7 kilometres of the Mombasa- Mariakani highway.

The project will see the road upgraded to a dual carriage consisting of flyovers, bus bays, service roads, truck parking, pedestrian foot bridges, walkways, street lighting and associated soft components.

KfW Development Bank of Germany, European Investment Bank and the Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund will also co-finance the project.

AfDB said the road is an important section of the import and export gateway along the Northern Corridor linking the port of Mombasa with Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the region.

The Mombasa-Mariakani road serves multiple connections to Mombasa mainland, Kilindini Harbour, Moi International Airport and a host of various other public and private manufacturing premises.

“With increasingly constrained capacity due to traffic volumes largely dominated by heavy trucks, the road experiences persistent congestion that hinders access to the main sea port of Mombasa,’’ said AfDB.

The intervention is in line with Kenya’s and AfDB’s strategies of prioritising infrastructure development and promotion of regional integration

“Efficient transportation and movement of people and goods resulting from the intervention will spur economic development in the area and beyond,” said AfDB.

The East African