Road under construction
Kenya and Tanzania have launched a US$164 million road project expected to boost trade, tourism and agriculture in the region.
The 240 km stretch runs between Arusha and Namanga in northern Tanzania, and Namanga to Athi River in Kenya.
It will serve key tourism and farming areas, boost goods transportation to Kenya’s Mombasa port and ease transport to Tanzania.
“I am confident that once completed the modernisation works on this road will have a positive impact on trade, tourism, agriculture and industrial development,” Kenya’s President Mwai Kibaki said at the project’s launch late on Tuesday.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) is providing US$93 million for part of the road in Kenya, while the Japan International Cooperation Agency is pitching in US$63 million on the Tanzanian side. Tanzania and Kenya will provide the rest.
The project will also involve building a one-stop border point between Kenya and Tanzania to speed up crossing. Businesses in the region have long complained of poor roads and other infrastructure, which raises their costs and makes East Africa less competitive when compared with other areas.
Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and Tanzania make up the East African Community, with a combined population of over 121 million people and a gross domestic product of more than US$57 billion. Source: Reuters
