The Kenya National Highway Authority at the weekend handed over three Sh86 million projects to the Kwale county government.
Kenha built a Sh40 million market at Samburu, another Sh31 million market in Mackinnon and a Sh12 million water project at Maji ya Chumvi.
“Today, we hand over two ultra-modern markets; one at Meli Kubwa in Mackinnon and another one in Samburu to Kwale county for operationalisation,” Kenha Director General Peter Mundinia said.
“Besides the markets, we have also provided boreholes and three water kiosks along the Mombasa-Nairobi highway the project route. Each water kiosk has been fitted with a 5,000-litre capacity water tank, a small room, piping and connection to the main water supply."
Kenha has also constructed six off-street truck parking facilities at Samburu, Mackinnon and Taru to enhance safety and to avoid drivers parking along the road, Mundinia said.
He said the rehabilitation of the Bachuma Gate to Maji Ya Chumvi section of the Nairobi-Mombasa highway cost Sh4.9 billion, funded by the national government and the World Bank.
The 53.4km road starts at the Bachuma Gate entrance and ends at the Tsavo East National Park. The contract was signed in November 2014.
“The road is also complete and already in use. I am certain that its improvement is making a difference in the Northern Transport Corridor Route connecting the port of Mombasa to the rest of the country and other East and Central African countries,” he said.
Kenha board chairperson Erastus Mongera said the Bachuma Gate-Maji Ya Chumvi road project, through which the two markets are constructed, is a Vision 2030 project.
“It is a section of the Northern Transport Corridor, providing passage to about 90 per cent of cargo destined to our neighbouring countries. We have been improving the entire corridor in Sections— all the way from Mombasa to Malaba, to reduce journey times and improve efficiency,” Mongera said.
He said to complement this efficiency on the road network, they have also invested in virtual weight technology for axle load and gross vehicle weighing.
“Some 10 virtual weighbridge stations have been strategically installed on major road corridors to capture axle and gross weights as vehicles are in motion and generate tickets automatically,” he said.
He added that the static weighbridges have also been modernised and installed with weigh-in-motion scales, cutting the times previously taken at weighbridges by more than half.
Mongera said other projects they are undertaking in the Coast region include the construction of the second and third phases of Dongo Kundu Bypass, Mombasa-Kwa Jomvu, Kwa Jomvu-Mariakani and Garsen-Witu-Lamu roads.
