The national government is building a 20-kilometre road connecting terror-prone Pandanguo area in Lamu to the main Lamu-Garsen road to improve infrastructure and security in Boni areas.
The area has been declared a terror hotspot by security agencies due to the spate of attacks that have taken place in the area.
In 2018, KDF personnel killed 10 suspected al Shabaab militants in the area while in January 2020, a multi-agency security team was able to successfully repulse a terror attack in the same area among many other incidents.
Lamu county commissioner Irungu Macharia revealed the government had set aside Sh10 million for construction of the Witu-Pandanguo road to bolster security in the area.
“The move is to improve security and also improve accessibility of the Boni area,” Macharia said.
So far, seven kilometres of the road have been done.
The rehabilitation of the Witu-Pandanguo road is also expected to open up the area, which has been perceived as marginalised for years.
Macharia said the road will equally link with the Lamu-Bodhei-Ijara-Garissa road to ensure that all security roads within the Boni area are interconnected.
“By interconnecting all the security roads within the wide Lamu Boni area, the National government is putting action to its goodwill of ensuring that the county is secured ahead of the full operationalisation of the Lamu Port,” he said.
Through the Kenya National Highways Authority, the national government has also set aside Sh17.9 billion for the establishment of a major highway linking Garissa and the coastal city of Lamu.
The road will comprise 257 km Lamu-Ijara-Garissa and a 113km Hindi-Bodhei-Basuba to Kiunga section and 83km of Ijara-Sangula to Hulugo section.
The 113km road will be interconnected with the Witu-Pandanguo road eventually to ensure the security roads enable access to the wider Lamu Boni area.
The 453-kilometre project will be implemented at a cost of Sh17.9 billion, and will take 36 months according to KeNHA.
Macharia assured the contractor of security for his team and equipment and urged him to speed up works so that the road is ready as scheduled.
Kenya Rural Roads Authority Roads officer Leonard Ouma said the national government was in the process of reaching a consensus with the county government to enable the use of Equalisation Funds towards the road project.
Lamu county is expected to provide Sh40 million towards the county’s NG- CDF kitty that will mostly be used to improve road infrastructure in previously marginalised areas.
“With that amount, we can now push the contractor to speed up and work within the given time frame,” Ouma said.
Most terror-prone areas in Boni are characterised by poor road networks that pose a challenge to security agencies operating in the areas and more so when they have to respond promptly to security threats.
-Edited by SKanyara
