The government is currently implementing multi-billion shillings rural roads projects in Murang’a County.
Upgrading of the rural roads has opened up the interior parts of the county with more business opportunities coming up and the price of land tripling as non-locals seek land to settle on or put up investments.
There are currently 13 rural road projects (453 kilometres) in the county being undertaken by Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA)costing the government Sh.19 billion.
The Murang’a County KeRRA Engineer, Joseph Wanjohi says that the roads are at different stages of completion and they will change the face of the county once complete.
The longest of the road under construction is the 75-kilometre Mbombo-Gati- Iguru Road that is being upgraded to bitumen standards at a cost of Sh.3.2 billion. Its
construction began in October 2017 and is expected to be complete by October 2020.
Eng. Wanjohi told Murang’a County Development Implementation and Coordination Committee that the road, which runs through Kamahuha and Makuyu trade centres has opened up the areas along the road for investments by non-local investors.
Demand for land by people who want to settle in those areas or real estate developers has made the land prices to go up. Kenya News Agency (KNA) learnt that land that used to sell at sh. 600,000 per acre before the upgrading of roads currently costs sh. 2 million.
The improved road network has also eased movement for the local inhabitants and opened them up for opportunities in urban centers where they can look for employment and commute from their homes daily or transport agricultural produce to the urban markets with ease.
The County Development Implementation and Coordination that is chaired by the County Commissioner, Mohammed Barre, appreciated that the government has invested greatly in the county’s road network.
The committee pledged to monitor the progress of the projects to ensure that they were properly implemented and that the public gets the value for the massive investment.
The road network under KeRRA does not include the roads being managed by the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA), Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) and the access roads being maintained by the county government.
By Judith Thuo
