Transport

Smooth roads put Malindi on the lane to tourism glory

ps

Infrastructure PS John Mosonik. PHOTO | FILE

The tarmacking of three roads in Kilifi County at a cost of Sh8.5 billion is set to ease the transportation of goods and passengers in the North Coast.

The roads are also expected to boost tourism and agriculture in the counties of Kilifi, Mombasa and Taita Taveta.

According to Infrastructure principal secretary John Mosonik, construction of the 35km Kaloleni-Mavueni road at a cost of Sh2.3 billion has been completed.

He said the road to be commissioned next month would ease transportation of cargo and passengers between Mariakani, Kaloleni and Kilifi town.

He added that the 45km Mariakani-Bamba road is being tarmacked at a cost of Sh2.1 billion.

Mr Mosonik noted that when the construction of the road is completed next year, it would be the first tarmacked road in Ganze constituency.

“At the moment, Ganze constituency does not have a tarmacked road. But I am glad that the tarmacking of the Mariakani-Bamba road has already started,” he said.

The PS said already five kilometres of the road has been tarmacked, adding that by the end of next month 10km would have been tarmacked.

Mr Mosonik said the 117km Malindi-Sala Gate Road is also being tarmacked at a cost of Sh4.1 billion. The project is expected to be completed in 2019.

The road is key to tourism as it links Malindi resort town to Tsavo East National Park in Taita Taveta County.

Most of the tourists who come to Malindi for holiday use the road to tour Tsavo for game drives as it is a shorter route than the Malindi-Mombasa highway. President Uhuru Kenyatta launched the construction of the road in September last year and is expected to be completed in October 2019.

It is among projects being implemented by the government through the Kenya Rural Roads Authority’s 10,000 low volume seal roads programme.

Mr Mosonik said encroachment had slowed down the works when some villagers sitting on the road reserves took the government to court demanding compensation.

“About 30 villagers at Kakuyuni took the government to court demanding compensation despite having built houses on road reserves,” he said, adding that the expansion of the Malindi Airport was also a major hurdle. “The airport’s runway is being extended by a kilometre and it will cut through a section of the Malindi-Sala Gate road,” he said.

Since Independence

“As a result, a 10km diversion must be created to link the road with the Malindi-Garsen road and connect it to a junction at Ganda.” Apart from tourism, such roads boost agriculture when farmers move their produce to the markets with considerable ease from Lango Baya, Chakama and Jilore to Malindi town markets.

Hoteliers and tour operators are upbeat that the construction of the Malindi-Sala Gate Road would boost tourism in Kilifi and Taita Taveta counties.

Since Independence tourism players lobbied to have the road tarmacked to no avail. Some tour opeartors carrying visitors from Malindi to Tsavo East National Park complained of gangs attacking them when vehicles slowed down on pot-holed sections.

Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers Kilifi branch chairman Philip Chai said the projects would revive tourism.

“We also expect the road to uplift domestic tourism as local tourists from Nairobi will take a shorter time to drive from Voi to Malindi rather the longer route to Mombasa,” he said.