The government has exuded confidence that the much-awaited World Rally Championship (WRC) slated for June 2021 will attract thousands of visitors despite the Covid-19 pandemic.
With all preparations in the last phase, the State has projected that the country will earn over Sh6 billion from the international event that will be broadcasted worldwide.
This came as the government announced that all was set for the international event that will be held around the world renowned Hellsgate National Park in Naivasha.
According to the Sports Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Amina Mohamed, the government had injected over Sh600m into preparations for the event.
Amina is optimistic the country would reap greatly from the event, adding that all safety and security measures had been addressed.
“We expect this rally to inject Sh6B into the economy and it will help us showcase various tourism destinations in the country,” she said. The CS was addressing the press at KWS Training Institute in Naivasha on Wednesday after supervising safety and medical simulations.
According to the CS, the service park which is at the training institute was ready and the visiting teams from WRC and FIA are satisfied with the medical and security measures in place.
Amina added that by May 1, all the works and roads that would be used in the rally would be completed ahead of the event that has already attracted tens of international drivers.
“We are working closely with the Local Organising Committee, WRC and FIA and we have already surpassed our targets in terms of preparations,” she said.
She termed the Covid-19 outbreak as a blessing in disguise for the government as it got ample time to prepare for the rally.
“Though the pandemic is still with us, we shall limit the number of persons entering the service bay but the public can view the cars on the roads as this is an outdoor event,” she said.
On his part, Safari Rally chief executive officer, Phineas Kimathi, said the country would be holding the African Rally Championship in April.
This, according to him, would be used to gauge the country’s preparedness ahead of Safari. He said they are currently working on minor repairs on the roads to be used following the short rains.
“We have had a very successful medical and security simulation around the service bay and the country is ready to host the World Rally Championship come June this year,” he said.
