The Nairobi Metropolitan Services has embarked on constructing a 28km road in Nairobi’s biggest informal settlement Kibera which will connect with the area to Langata, Southern Bypass and other roads.
The construction is part of the Sh5.8 billion project aimed at upgrading 444km of access roads across informal settlements in Nairobi county.
Last year, NMS declared Kibera, Korogocho and Mathare as special planning areas ahead of their upgrade.
This will be in line with President Uhuru Kenyatta’s March 18, 2020, directive to the DG Badi to undertake slum-upgrading initiatives in the capital.
Speaking on Wednesday during the launch of the construction works in Sarang'ombe and Kibera, NMS Director-General Mohammed Badi called on the residents to cooperate with the constructors.
“One year from now, all access roads within the informal settlements will be tarmacked‚” Badi said.
He revealed that the project in Kibera will also involve three other major developments including installation of water pipes, sewers lines and electricity.
The director general said owners would demolish houses built on land marked for the road construction and no house will be spared.
“No favouritism will be applied whether the house is built using stones, mud or iron sheets. I plead with residents to cooperate and move with speed to demolish the houses,” Badi said.
NMS director of transport and public works Michael Ochieng' said labour for the road project will be sourced locally from the people living in the area where the project is.
“We are calling upon the youths to take part in this project which will benefit generations to come,” Ochieng said.
Sarang'ombe MCA Lawrence Odhiambo disclosed the projects will be beneficial to area residents especially in times of disaster
“Most of these remote areas in Kibera lack access roads and when an emergency arises it becomes difficult for fire engines, water browsers to reach to the area of need,” he said.
The ward representative said the projects were not for the 2022 politics but for boosting livelihood in informal settlements.
“These are not political projects but it will go down history that NMS constructed and tarmacked roads in Kibera informal settlement, ” he said.
The upgrade of the 444km of roads, according to Transport and Infrastructure CS James Macharia, is one of the measures being undertaken to improve accessibility in the informal settlements.
Last year in September Kenya Urban Roads Authority (Kura) director general Silas Kinoti said the road project will see areas such as Kawangware, Riruta, parts of Dagoretti North, Mathare, Kangemi, Mukuru, Kibera, parts of Githurai 44 and 45, Mwiki and Zimmermann, among others re-carpeted.
He explained that some informal settlements had been mapped in readiness for the start of the project which will involve the upgrade of the roads to bitumen standards.
Kinoti observed that the project will be a welcome boost to informal settlements in the capital city as it will open the areas up and make them more accessible.
“Most of these areas have suffered from poor road network making accessibility of critical services and other essentials a challenge. This has led to difficulties in emergency and disaster response including fire outbreaks and other emergency services hampered by inaccessibility,” he said.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris
