A contractor working on St. Mary’s-Gitugi- Mioro road has been given up to December 2019 to complete tarmacking the road.
The road, whose tarmacking started in 2012 has denied residents a chance to enjoy easy transport.
The contractor, Nyoro Construction Company, has been directed to complete the remaining 12 kilometres before the said deadline.
Members of the County Development Implementation and Coordination Committee (CDICC) recommended the removal of the contractor if he failed to meet the given deadline.
Led by County Commissioner Mr. Mohammed Barre, the members wondered why the contractor took such a long time on a simple 40-kilomtre road.
Barre said the government is committed to follow up and ensure all projects were completed on time so that residents could benefit from them.
Construction work of the road, funded at Sh2.17 billion, commenced in July 12, 2012 and was expected to be completed within a period of 30 months.
“As we appreciate the work done already, completion of the project has delayed for a period of 84 months. We challenge the contractor to hasten construction of the remaining part before end of the year,” added Barre.
The contractor cited cash-flow challenges which affected the implementation of daily activities on the site.
Represented by John Mugo, the company claimed that there was delay in relocation of power lines and water pipes which hampered continuous construction of the road.
Local residents have in the past decried delay in completion of the road which serves rich agricultural areas neighbouring Aberdare forest.
The contractor promised to finish the remaining parts saying he has increased machinery and man power to hasten the work.
Once completed, tea farmers will benefit as cost of transportation of green leaf to the local Gatunguru tea factory will reduce.
The CDICC also toured the ongoing tarmacking of a 17 kilometre Gakira-Ngonda-Mununga road in Kigumo Sub County where Shengli Engineering Construction Company which is working on the road cited increased rains in the area as slowing down earthworks.
“The major constraints to progress of works are prolonged machine downtimes, rainfall and lack of enough key machinery like graders and rollers to accelerate the pace of the works,” reported a representative of the company.
The contractor further told members of the committee that he has requested for change of pavement structure to allow for asphalt concrete surfacing instead of what was indicated in the contract due to nature of the terrain.
The company promised to revamp its resources once the changes are approved and complete the works in the next six months.
Kenya Rural Roads Authority is currently tarmacking about 14 roads within Murang’a County, a move expected to ease transport and boost economic activities.
By Bernard Munyao
Contractor under pressure to complete tarmacking a Murang’a road
