On the social development front, infrastructure connects communities and countries with market, health and education facilities.
When President Uhuru Kenyatta took over the reins of power in 2013, he was aware of the crucial role infrastructure would play in the country’s growth trajectory and in cementing his legacy.
The transport sector, no doubt, has taken a huge chunk of investment, notably in the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR).
Infrastructure is crucially important to foster countries' economic development and prosperity.
The availability of quality infrastructure guarantees increased production and productivity. It ensures easy movement of goods and raw materials, reducing inefficiencies and leads to efficient utilisation of scarce resources.
On the social development front, infrastructure connects communities and countries with market, health and education facilities, gives access to clean water, sanitation and power, and improves livelihoods, creating the conditions for lasting peace.
When President Uhuru Kenyatta took over the reins of power in 2013, he was aware of the crucial role infrastructure would play in the country’s growth trajectory and in cementing his legacy.
His Big four Agenda development blueprint comprising food security, affordable housing, manufacturing and Universal Health Care could not be achieved without adequate investment in infrastructure.
The transport sector, no doubt, has taken a huge chunk of investment, notably in the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), a modern, efficient transport system that has enabled safe, comfortable travel for individuals and freight across the country and region at lower costs.
Afristar, the SGR operator, has ensured a reliable and high capacity transport, reduced freight tariff, and de-congested roads leading to savings in road maintenance, de-congested port, facilitated skills transfer and an increase in employment opportunities directly and indirectly.
One of the key infrastructure landmarks benefitting from the SGR is the Port of Mombasa, where the construction of a second container terminal has seen the container throughput rise from 894,000 to 1.1 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs). This makes it the fifth busiest port in Africa.
Given that the port facilitates over 90 percent of our international sea trade, it is imperative that the turnaround time for cargo to leave the port and reach its destination is reduced.
In this respect, the expansion of the port would not have been possible without SGR, whose regulator Kenya Railways Corporation, has stepped up measures which have greatly de-congested the port.
Also worth noting is investment in the road network, which has been scaled up to build more highways, urban roads and also to extend rural roads to where they are needed to open up areas to economic activity. The highlight though is the Nairobi Express Way, which is currently nearing completion.
It is part of the northern corridor that provides passage to 85 percent of the cargo destined for neighbouring landlocked countries, such as Uganda, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan.
Due to the rapidly changing global technological development, the government has laid down over 6,000 kilometers of the National Fibre Optic Backbone Infrastructure (Nofbi) across all 47 counties to provide a robust infrastructure to citizens.
It is evident from the foregoing that the role of infrastructure in socio-economic development cannot be overstated.
One can only hope that President Kenyatta’s successor will carry on with his legacy projects to spur more economic growth in the country.
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