The East African Community-commissioned road connecting Kenya and Tanzania is currently more than 35% complete, local media reported.
The road project is funded by several large organizations: the African Development Bank, the African Development Fund, and the Kenyan government, among others.
The 54-kilometer road construction within Kenya started in 2021 and is expected to be completed by 2024. On the Kenyan side, the road project will cost Ksh7.5 billion ($50 million) and will begin near Mtwapa town, situated on the Indian Ocean coast.
The route will continue north along the Indian Ocean coast, passing through Mtwapa Town, Majengo, and other towns, eventually ending at the beginning of Kilifi.
Furthermore, the recent meeting of the East African Community in Mombasa disclosed that certain sections of the road linking the northern port city of Tanga in Tanzania and Lunga Lunga settlement in southeastern Kenya are near completion and are partially operational.
The road is being built in several stages due to its large size and cost, and the need for additional research.
"The development of this road is planned in phases owing to the size (a total of 454 kilometres), the need for review of the studies for some of the sections and required huge investment," said Principal Civil Engineer Godfrey Enzama, who spoke on behalf of the Deputy Secretary General responsible for Infrastructure of the EAC Secretariat.
According to him, the main goals of the collaborative conference were to assess and review the progress of different projects within the road sub-sector, and to formulate proposals for the Sectoral Council on Transport, Communications and Meteorology, which is scheduled to take place in March 2024.
Overall, the first phase of the project included a road stretch spanning 120.8 km in Tanzania and another 54 km road section in Kenya. The route traverses the East African coastline, which has abundant opportunities for tourism and horticulture. Additionally, the project encompasses access road advisory services and other complementary social services.
The construction of this road is an example of active interaction between African countries in the field of economic development. Thus, in November, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger announced their intention to create a joint airline for the Alliance of Sahel States, which comprises the aforementioned nations. They also proposed the creation of a stabilization fund and investment bank for the alliance.