The Nairobi Expressway opens this weekend. The Kenya National Highways Authority has told MPs that the contractor China Road and Bridge Corporation has committed to restoring the original dual carriageway road free of charge (see P10).
The Expressway cost around Sh88 billion and will be operated as a Private Public Partnership where the contractor collects road tolls to repay the cost of investment.
It looks fine but unfortunately the side roads are still in a very poor state. The road surface is uneven in many places, slip roads have been lost, and pedestrian pavements removed. The contractor has pledged to fix all these problems free of charge.
Kenha also needs to construct more pedestrian bridges as the Expressway cuts through the heart of the city and cannot easily be crossed.
But the contractor also pledged to replace 3,000 trees destroyed during construction of the Expressway. So far, all we have seen is a few exotic flowers on the Expressway columns which quickly withered.
CRBC should now urgently start replanting these 3,000 trees and ensure that they are all indigenous Kenyan trees that can enhance biodiversity and beautify the landscape.
Quote of the day: "I no have education. I have inspiration. If I was educated, I would be a damn fool."
Bob Marley
The Jamaican singer died on May 11, 1981
