Streets in downtown Nairobi will be treated to a face-lift through the paving of pedestrian sidewalks if Governor Johnson Sakaja holds the end of his bargain.
The city boss made the pledge on Tuesday during a tour of the Central Business District where repair works are ongoing.
"Great work going on. Grateful for the cooperation and support. We will use a similar model to pedestrianize more of downtown CBD," Sakaja said.
He was accompanied by former Central Bank of Kenya Governor Patrick Njoroge on the inspection tour of ongoing repair works around Haile Sellasie Avenue and Aga Khan Walk.
Paving of pedestrian sidewalks started in 2020 under the defunct Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) to improve the aesthetic appearance of the city.
The street rehabilitation exercise was part of NMS's 100-day plan to refurbish a number of roads in the CBD to a more user-friendly status for cyclists and pedestrians.
With a budget of Sh28 billion, the NMS under Director General Mohamed Badi embarked on re-carpeting several roads with using asphalt concrete overlay.
Some parking lots on some streets including Kenyatta Avenue and Wabera Street were converted into pedestrian walkways and bicycle lanes.
The visually appealing retouch is, however, largely missing in parts of Nairobi downtown where some streets are still serviced by dilapidated roads.