The residents of Lamu County in Kenya have praised the construction of a 15km road in Mokowe Town by the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (Kura), saying it is coming after a long wait.
The US $10.9m project which started in May 2017, is being undertaken by Liberty Builders Limited. “We have completed tarmacking the first 1.5km out of the intended 15km. Work is in progress and we expect the whole project to be complete by November next year,” said Kura acting director in-charge of policy strategy and compliance Mohamed Abdulrashid.
Public facilities
The Mokowe road is expected to link all public facilities and improve security and access in the town and its environs.
Apart from Lamu, the roads agency is also working on 143 km of roads in 14 counties at a total cost of US $68.2m under the low volume seal program. The program mainly targets marginalized counties’ headquarters.
Many of the residents claim to have never stepped on a tarmac road and expressed disappointment over the marginalization of the area with huge, agriculture, fisheries and tourism potential; by successive governments.
Also read: Kenya’s road agency KURA inks US$19.1m deal for Ngong Road expansion
Road devolution
It was only during the advent of devolution that roads in historical Lamu town were paved using cabro. However, despite President Uhuru Kenyatta launching the tarmacking of Garsen-Lamu road in March last year, work is yet to start.
The Mokowe project is slated to transform the town into a modern centre, matching its upcoming status as the host to Kenya’s second port-the Lamu Port South Sudan Ethiopia Transport (Lapsset) corridor. It is at Mokowe Jetty where travellers to Lamu board boats to the town.
The project is already attracting investments in the area with many businesses in Lamu Old town shifting from the island to Mokowe in the mainland.
