The government has set aside land in Bungoma County for 2,000 affordable housing units.
The houses will be built on county-provided property in Bungoma's Musikoma Ward, Kanduyi constituency.
President William Ruto launched the project in February during a tour of the Western region.
He also announced plans to construct the Kanduyi airstrip, Chebukube, Kanduyi market, Naitiri (Tongaren), Chwele, and Kamukunywa markets.
Western region affordable housing project lead Polycarp Onyango handed over land for the project to the contractor on Friday.
“I appreciate the good relationship between Governor Kenneth Lusaka and the head of state. It will make our work here much easier as we aim to complete these projects on time,” Onyango said.
Onyango asked contractors who will develop the affordable housing programme to prioritise hiring local labour and technical staff for the projects.
The programme will create jobs for youths and benefit the residents in many ways.
“The contractor has clear instructions that labour should be sourced locally,” Onyango said.
Onyango said the project would be completed within 18 months, adding that the design phase took longer than anticipated.
Yasmin Jafari from the Micro and Small Enterprise Authority, encouraged local welders, carpenters, and fabricators to register with the authority to be eligible for work at the construction site.
“This project aligns with the President’s Bottom-Up Transformation Agenda to benefit local communities. Let’s register and contribute to this effort,” Jafari stated.
