Kiambu Bus Park is in the final stages of construction, and laying of Cabro is set to commence soon.
According to Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi, the base layer at the venue is being finalized and the construction of walkways and drainage work is ongoing.
The bus terminal which is one of the busiest with matatus operating to all major towns within the County, Nairobi, Murang’a and Nakuru Counties is being rehabilitated by the Directorate of Transport to ease mobility and spur economic development.
Two weeks ago,the Governor spoke on the projects his administration has initiated in the one year he has been in the office saying the county government has assembled road construction units of county-owned graders, roller compactors, trucks, water bowsers and excavators which have been opening up new roads and undertaking routine maintenance on feeder roads at a significantly reduced cost.
“To speed up socio-economic transformation, my administration prioritizes rebuilding the County road network, a key aspect of my manifesto. Our aim is to ensure well-maintained and accessible roads across all the 60 wards”, he said.
To achieve this, Wamatangi noted that road construction units are being established in each sub-county, equipped with necessary machinery owned by the County to provide the construction material, significantly reducing the overall cost of rebuilding the roads.
“Over 400 rural access roads within the wards have been successfully opened up and restored and progress is also evident in the ongoing tarmacking of roads across various parts of the County,” the Governor said.
“Modernizing and upgrading bus parks in other areas too such as Makongeni in Thika, Kikuyu Town, Kwa Maiko in Githunguri and Karuri will notably improve public transportation and overall quality of the transport sector.
Wamatangi further named upcoming tendered projects that include bus parks in Githurai, Githunguri and O.J in Ruiru.
In response to rising electricity costs, Wamatangi said that the County government has changed street lighting to solar and added that approximately 18,000 solar street lights will be installed across the 60 wards alongside ongoing repair and maintenance of existing lights in this financial year.
There has been a need to upgrade the urban center to adequately serve the rapidly growing population, the Governor said noting that because of the necessity, he has established six new municipalities including Githunguri, Lari, Gatundu, Juja, Kabete, and Githurai that will receive significant annual grants ranging from Sh400 million to Sh500 million mainly for vital infrastructure projects such as road construction, water and sewerage systems installation, street lighting and modern markets.
“Kiambu County is slated to receive about Sh1.6 billion funding from the World Bank’s Kenya Urban Support Program (KUSP). We now have 12 new municipal managers to oversee the municipalities and efforts are underway to digitize the land registry and automate building plan approvals,” Governor Wamatangi said.
In April this year, the government signed a Sh37.2 billion (USD 286 million) loan deal with China to finance the conversion of Kiambu road into a dual carriageway to ease traffic congestion.
Roads Principal Secretary Joseph Mbugua said then that the Kenyan government through the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (Kura) entered into a deal with Chinese firm Sinohydro Corporation Limited for execution of the Kiambu Road dualling project.
The dualling of the 25 km road which passes through Muthaiga-Kiambu-Ndumberi is expected to ease the endless traffic jams experienced along the busy road especially during rush hours.
By Wangari Ndirangu
