AfDB funds Turbi-Moyale road

Kenyan president Mwai Kibaki officially opening the Turbi-Moyale road. SOURCE: INTERNET 

The board of directors of African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved $120m funding of the Turbi-Moyale road which will go a long way to finance 94% of civil work.

The construction of the road is part of the third and last phase of the Mombasa–Nairobi–Addis Ababa Road Corridor Development project which was launched in Moyale town last Wednesday by President Mwai Kibaki.

“AfDB’s support to Kenya in the three phases of the development of the Mombasa–Nairobi–Addis Ababa road alone amounts to $429 million, this development of the corridor will have significant impact in regional integration and trade for the benefit of Kenya and Ethiopia, whose combined population stands at 125 million,” the bank said in an online statement.

During the launch Gabriel Negatu, Director of the Bank’s East Africa Regional Resource Centre (EARC) said the Turbi–Moyale section is the last section in Kenya to complete the Trans-African Highway from Cairo to Cape Town.

During the ceremony, Kibaki expressed his Government’s appreciation of the Bank for playing a leading role in road infrastructure development, and its continued support as a development partner in Kenya.

The funding comes after the official opening of the 50km Thika Super Highway which the bank funded by half of the cost to a tune of US $180m while the government and Exim Bank of China financed US $80m and US $100m respectively.

In the statement AfDB says the super highway will carry up to 60,000 vehicles daily and help about 100,000 residents of Kasarani, Kiambu and Thika work in the formal sector, while another 125,000 are in the informal sector – a majority of whom have to commute to Nairobi.

“Additionally 12,000 high school students will benefit from the road and 12,000 KU and JKUAT students attending part time classes in the evening,” it said.

During the launch AfDB President Donald Kaberuka said their partnership with Kenya started in 1967 with investment of US $3 billion. Of this 60% went to physical infrastructure especially in transport and energy sector.

AfDB is Kenya’s leading development partner in the road sector with operations totalling more than US $1 billion.

“We reaffirmed the AfDB’s strong commitment to infrastructure development in the country and on the continent since infrastructure promotes trade and creates a conducive environment for business,” he added.

On his part Kibaki said the Nairobi–Thika superhighway is source of a national pride adding it’s “It is the first modern highway infrastructure in Kenya’s history, contributing to achieve the country’s goal of reaching middle-income status by 2030.”

President Kibaki commended the AfDB for its unwavering support in the project, providing a paradigm shift to the country’s road infrastructure network.