Economy

Agency opens talks on paying Kajiado road land owners

otachi

National Land Commission chairman Gershom Otachi. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Individuals and institutions owning 18 parcels of land along Ngong-Kiserian-Isinya corridor have been invited for compensation talks next month as the State races to complete its first annuity road.

In a notice, the National Land Commission (NLC) chairman Gershom Otachi said the Kenya Rural Roads Authority had asked the commission to facilitate acquisition of the parcels of land for public use.

“Every person interested in the affected land is required to deliver a written claim to compensation, land ownership documents and bank account details,” said Mr Otachi.

The move comes immediately after last week’s admission by road and civil engineering firm, Intex Construction, that efforts to finish the remaining three kilometres of the annuity road had been delayed by land acquisition.

The contractor has so far completed 88 kilometres of the road.

Last week, when Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia and Kajiado Governor Joseph ole Lenku led top government officials to inspect the project, Intex Construction chairman Kishan Gehlot said they were on course to complete the road this year.

“But our work has been hampered by delay to handover the project site to us since the parcels in question are privately owned,” he said.

The 91-kilometre road is set to be Kenya’s first annuity road to be completed after nearly a decade of false starts.

Under the annuity model, the private companies execute projects against a promise of reimbursement from the National Treasury.

Mr Macharia promised the road would be completed and opened for public use before the year ends.

Under annuity financing, the State had initially planned to build 10,000 kilometres of paved roads and laid out plans to raise the reimbursement cash from the fuel levy.

At one point, however, the Roads ministry threatened to drop the model, citing inflated costs and the slow pace of project approvals.