The government will launch construction of affordable houses in July this year, Roads and Infrastructure C abinet Secretary (CS), James Macharia has said.
The one million housing programme, Macharia noted will be divided into 56 projects, where every county will have one housing project and Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu have more than one.
The CS was speaking during Prize giving day in Kahuhia Girls High School in Murang’a noted that the construction of the houses which require more than Sh. 2.6 trillion will be done by the government in partnership with private sector.
In flagship project, he added that they have identified seven areas to start constructing affordable houses for common mwananchi.
“We have land in Mavoko, Ngara, ridge road where we will kick start construction of houses, as the government embarks on achieving the agenda of housing within a period of four years,” added Macharia.
The government, he further noted will provide infrastructure and other legal necessities to encourage private investors to take up the opportunity of building the houses,” he noted.
Macharia said in Kenya there is need of more than 5 million houses in urban areas, saying after doing the one million houses; the government will seek for more funding to bring up the remaining part.
“We know majority of Kenyans live in semi-permanent houses and it’s an agenda of the Jubilee administration to provide cheap and standard houses for Kenyan citizens,” divulged the CS.
Meanwhile, Macharia noted that the government is fast tracking tarmacking of a section of road leading to Turkana oil fields to ease transportation of crude oil to the refinery.
He said the 297-kilometre road from Eldoret to Lokichar will be tarmacked within a period of two years in effort to fast-track transportation of crude oil to Mombasa.
Macharia observed that Kainuk Bridge has been washed away by heavy rains and presently engineers were fixing a drift bridge to enable transportation of goods.
In few months, he said, over 36 trucks of crude oil will be heading to the refinery from the oil fields and thus requirement of a shorter road to ease transportation. President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to launch oil project on June 3 this year.
“Transportation of crude oil to the refinery will proceed as scheduled as the drift will be used awaiting construction of the bridge,” said the CS, adding that the road contract has been awarded contractor to seven companies.
By Bernard Munyao
