Kenya, under President Uhuru Kenyatta, has heavily invested in infrastructural development, especially when it comes to the transport sector.
These investments have seen the country borrow heavily from external partners to make sure that the projects are a success and that Kenyans eventually get to enjoy the fruits of the tax they pay.
Despite having the feeling that they are being heavily taxed to service some of these loans, it still remains a reality that Kenyans will eventually enjoy the swiftness that these projects will make available once complete.
Other projects are purely built on Public-Private-Partnership terms. The projects are expected to be complete by at least June 2022.
Some of these projects include;
Nairobi Expressway
The Nairobi Expressway Project is a 27.1km road project beginning from Mlolongo through the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and Nairobi’s CBD to Westlands area along Waiyaki Way.
The Nairobi Expressway will have a four-lane and six-lane dual carriageway within the existing median of Mombasa Road, Uhuru Highway, and Waiyaki Way as well as 10 interchanges.
The section between the Eastern and Southern bypasses will be a six-lane dual carriageway while the section from to the Eastern Bypass and that from the Southern Bypass to James Gichuru will be a four-lane dual carriageway.
The expressway will cut travel time from Rironi to JKIA from three hours to just 20 minutes, which means traffic will be a thing of the past.
It is the first expressway built in East and Central Africa and the second largest toll road in Africa after the Dakar Toll Highway.
Rironi-Nakuru-Mau Summit road
This is another infrastructure project that is set to change the face of the country by reducing traffic along the Rironi-Nakuru-Mau Summit road.
Through a Sh160 billion public-private-partnership, 175km road that transverses Kiambu and Nakuru counties is set for a massive upgrade into a four-lane dual carriageway.
The project will also involve construction of a four-kilometre elevated highway through Nakuru town.
The highway directly serves an estimated population of six million and another 19 million people living in Nakuru county and beyond.
Construction of the road begins next year.
Kenol-Sagana-Marua road
The 85.5km road is currently under construction and is being upgraded into a four lane dual carriage way.
The upgrade will help ease traffic on the road as well as the cost of transporting farm produce.
It is also expected to reduce road accidents which are mainly attributed to traffic moving the opposite direction.
Lapsset Corridor Programme
The Lapsset Corridor Programme is part of the Kenya Vision 2030 Strategy which is the national long-term development policy that aims to transform Kenya into a newly industrializing, middle-income country providing a high quality of life to all its citizens by 2030 in a clean and secure environment.
Lapsset is Eastern Africa’s largest and most ambitious infrastructure project bringing together Kenya, Ethiopia and South Sudan.
The project consists of seven key infrastructure projects starting with a new 32 Berth port at Lamu (Kenya); Interregional Highways from Lamu to Isiolo, Isiolo to Juba (South Sudan), Isiolo to Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), and Lamu to Garsen (Kenya), Crude Oil Pipeline from Lamu to Isiolo, Isiolo to Juba; Product Oil Pipeline from Lamu to Isiolo, Isiolo to Addis Ababa; Interregional Standard Gauge Railway lines from Lamu to Isiolo, Isiolo to Juba, Isiolo to Addis Ababa, and Nairobi to Isiolo; 3 International Airports: one each at Lamu, Isiolo, and Lake Turkana; 3 Resort Cities: one each at Lamu, Isiolo and Lake Turkana; and The multipurpose High Grand Falls Dam along the Tana River.
Standard Gauge Railway
The Standard Gauge Railway was conceived as a flagship project under the Kenya Vision 2030 development agenda. It is proposed to connect Mombasa to Malaba on the border of Kenya and Uganda.
The 969km standard gauge railway from Mombasa to Malaba is to be constructed at a cost of US $9.9bn. Phase one of the project 472km from Mombasa to Nairobi and phase 2A are both complete. Phase 2A is from Nairobi to Naivasha and covers a distance of 120km.
There are other infrastructure developments including dams, which will help in providing for water to Kenyans for domestic use and irrigation. This will help a lot in terms of food production and the realisation of a food secure nation.
Konza Techno City
This is another of the Vision 2030 flagship projects whose construction is ongoing.
The smart city project is expected to generate about 17,000 direct high-value jobs and an additional 68,000 indirect jobs once complete.
Dubbed the African Silicon Savanna, the project targets business process outsourcing, software development, data centres, disaster recovery centres, call centres, light manufacturing industries, and research institutions.
Its construction is expected to cost about $14.5 billion.
Edited by CM