Major infrastructure projects, especially at the Coast, are on President Uhuru Kenyatta’s radar as he prepares to tour the region.
The President is expected to tour all the six counties of the Coast during his traditional end-of-year stay at the Coast, with a special focus on Malindi, Kilifi county, and Lamu.
DP William Ruto is expected to join the President for part of his stay at the Coast during which they will also seek to sell the Jubilee Party.
The two will inspect the progress of the expansion of Malindi Airport and the construction of the Lamu Port.
“We are on track and will accomplish our development agenda for the country. We will continue until a complete transformation is achieved,” Ruto said in Meru yesterday.
In his weekly briefing yesterday, State House Spokesman Manoah Esipisu said the Lamu Port and the Malindi Airport are key projects the government is focussing on.
The expansion of the Malindi Airport is a key to the revival of the tourism industry, he said.
Last week, the Kenya Airports Authority made progress in the expansion of the Malindi Airport through phase one of land acquisition, which entails the acquisition of 25 hectares.
“The transfer of funds to the National Land Commission, which will undertake and facilitate the land compensation, has been completed. The second phase will require the purchase of additional land for extension of the main runway. This will pave way for direct flights from Europe,” Esipisu said.
The ongoing works at Malindi Airport, which include the extension of the apron, the upgrade of the security perimeter fence and the expansion of the car park to accommodate 51 more vehicles, is said to be 70 per cent complete. Completion is scheduled for end of January 2017, Esipisu said.
State House also highlighted Lamu Port is the anchor for the Lapsset Corridor Project that contains seven key project components geared towards opening up Northern Kenya.
Lamu Port is the entry and exit point of the entire transport Corridor and its realisation is vital.
The government undertook ground–breaking for the Lapsset Corridor Project at Lamu Port in March 2012, after which it commenced construction of various preliminary infrastructural facilities and services.
“Substantive progress has been made in this front. Early last week, the board of the Kenya Ports Authority and the board of the Lapsset Corridor Authority toured the new port in Lamu where on-going dredging works, piling, concrete blocks pre-casting, formation of cofferdam and land reclamation were witnessed,” Esipisu said.