Kirinyaga County residents will benefit from a Sh.100 million Post Crash Trauma center along Makutano Sagan Road as part of community benefit from Kenol- Sagana-Marua dual carriage project.
Another Sh.25 million has been set aside for construction of Eco Toilets and markets in Kibingoti, Ndia Constituency and Makutano in Mwea Constituency.
Kirinyaga Governor Anne Mumbi said the projects will be of great advantage to the local community and lauded the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) for the roadside infrastructural projects.
The governor lobbied for the projects during a consultative meeting with KeNHA in Nairobi which was also attended by other leaders in whose jurisdiction the road will pass through.
Mumbi now wants 40 percent of the jobs in the project to be reserved for the local people.
The governor also wants the households that will be affected by the project to be compensated before the commencement of the project.
She said the project will bring with it immense life-changing opportunities for the local community which includes opening up the area for investments.
“There will be increased economic activities that will translate into higher income levels for households in the county”, she said.
The expansion of the road will ease ways of business transaction by enhancing transportation of goods such as fresh produce from Kirinyaga to various markets within and outside the county.
In anticipation of the road project, many business establishments such as restaurants and petrol stations are coming up along the road corridor which is offering employment opportunities to the local youth as a multiplying effect.
The value of land has also gone up due to demand by investors thus benefiting the land owners who choose to sell part of their land and uplift their economic status.
The 84 kilometers stretch passes though Murang’a, Kirinyaga and Nyeri Counties. It is part of the 800 kilometers Great North Road that runs from Mombasa through Nairobi to Moyale.
The African Development Bank approved a loan of Sh. 23 billion for the project.
By Irungu Mwangi
