Technical delays in settling land compensation claims to Project Affected Persons (PAPs) are slowing down the completion of the Sagana-Marua dual carriageway.
Dualling of the 36-kilometre road project was expected to be complete by October this year, but contractors had to seek an extension owing to challenges in paying out compensation claims and technicalities in relocating key physical utilities such as power lines.
So far, only 79 per cent of the project is complete, compared to an earlier projected progress of 89.8 per cent.
The Central Region Kenya National Highway Authority (Kenha) Resident Engineer Newton Itobi now says that while Lot 1 of the Sh14 billion project that runs from Kenol to Sagana is currently at 92 per cent, the 36-kilometre stretch from Sagana to Marua is lagging at 79 per cent.
The official who was giving a status report on the progress of the 84-kilometre highway before the Central Regional Implementation Coordination and Management Committee (NGD-RICMC), however, said the state was optimistic that the outstanding issues would be addressed to ensure the contractor is able to complete the project by January 22 next year.
“The Kenol-Sagana Road project is currently at 92 per cent completion. The only areas that are remaining are a few sections in Makutano town, which is a result of the delayed acquisition of land. The Sagana-Marua Road is at 79 per cent and much behind, compared to Lot 1 (Kenol-Sagana), but the biggest problem we have is the land acquisition. This month, members of the public were demonstrating due to delayed payments. We also have the section in Karatina town where we are going to have a viaduct, which is still pending. The acquisition of land and compensation is still not complete at the Marua section,” he told the committee chaired by Central Regional Deputy Commissioner Benson Leparmorijo.
The Sh6 billion project, financed jointly by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Government of Kenya, commenced on July 30, 2020, and was expected to be completed by October 18 of this year.
The entire 84-kilometre Kenol-Sagana-Marua Road expansion project was earmarked to cost a total of Sh40 billion.
Itobi also briefed the committee on the progress of the 640-kilometre Aberdare-Mau Mau Road, which is expected to link Kiambu, Murang’a, and Nyeri counties and is currently at various stages of completion.
He, however, noted that unlike the Kenol-Sagana-Maua road, which had encountered challenges due to compensation claims, the Mau-Mau road rehabilitation project was a mutual agreement between the public and government where land owners donated part of their land for road expansion without any compensation.
He nevertheless said part of the challenges they are currently facing include the relocation of key infrastructure such as power and water works and also reluctance by some members of the public to give way corridors for the road expansion.
“For the Mau Mau roads, we don’t have the aspect of compensation, and so we are working with the existing corridors, which are becoming a real challenge. For this project, we don’t have the provision of land acquisition; what we have is land leasing, where the public provided land for the widening of the road,” he explained.
In September this year, Engineer Sayed Antiqulla, an official of the China Wu Yi Company that is undertaking the dualling of the Sagana-Marua road, told the County Implementation Coordination and Management Committee (NGD-CICMC) that the 36-kilometre stretch was behind schedule owing to challenges revolving around the speedy compensation PAPs, relocation of physical utilities, and technicalities in land acquisition.
Antiqulla said they were facing challenges in their work due to frequent demos by PAPs who were accusing the state of delay in processing their claims.
Antiqulla told the committee that residents of the Gatundu location in Othaya Sub County and Kirimukuyu in Mathira West had already issued a notice of a planned peaceful demo to the company on September 29 as well as an intention to paralyse construction works starting on October 2, 2023.
“Claims of delayed compensation by the Projected Affected Persons (PAPs) have led to disruption of construction works within the Gatundu location (Km 65+00-Km 69+69). Also, PAPs within Kirimukuyu division (Km 74+00–Km 83+800) have issued a notice informing of the planned peaceful procession starting September 29, 2023, as well as the stoppage of construction works starting October 2, 2023,” read part of the company’s project brief.
The contractor also cited challenges in accessing a total of 13-kilometre sections of road in Kangocho, Karatina, and Marua interchanges due to the delayed land acquisition process, which falls under the National Land Commission (NLC).
Relocation of key utilities, including water piping, power lines, and fibre optic cables, especially around Karatina town, also complicated construction work.
On compensation, Atiqulla said Kirinyaga County led in the number of PAPs who had already received compensation, with 932 people out of the projected 1,014 having already received their dues totaling Sh. 1.5 billion.
However, in Nyeri County, only 327 PAPs have received compensation from the NLC out of 1,351 who had been listed as bona fide beneficiaries.
In total, Kenha is supposed to pay out Sh4,687,687,970 to 2,365 PAPs in Nyeri and Kirinyaga through the NLC, which is the paying agent.
Once complete, the Kenol-Sagana-Marua dual carriageway is expected to, among other things, reduce travel time, improve road safety, reduce vehicle operating costs, boost economic growth, and foster regional integration by improving connectivity between Kenya, Ethiopia, and the Horn of Africa.
The ambitious road project is part of the Great North Road/Trans Highway from Cape Town in South Africa and starts from Kenol Township in Murang’a through Makutano and Sagana in Kirinyaga County before ending at Marua in Nyeri County.
It is set to connect the Northern Corridor from Nairobi to the Lapsset Corridor, which is expected to link Kenya to Ethiopia.
By Samuel Maina and Wangari Mwangi
