Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta officially launched the start of the construction of the Nairobi Outer Ring Road Improvement Project, which is jointly financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Kenyan government.

The total cost of the project is estimated to be about $125.18-million, of which the African Development Fund is financing $112.43-million and government $12.75-million.

The project involves the construction of a 13 km-long dual highway to traverse the northern and eastern districts of Nairobi city. It also entails the construction of missing links covering about 16 km. Once completed, the entire project will drastically decongest the environs of the two districts, including arterial roads connecting Nairobi-Thika Highway, Eastern Bypass, Northern Bypass, Mombasa road, and the Jomo-Kenyatta International Airport.

Moreover, the project will contribute to creating a conducive business environment and improving travel conditions for commuters.

Speaking at the ceremony, the AfDB’s East Africa Regional Resource Centre director, Gabriel Negatu, said, after the Nairobi-Thika Highway financed by the AfDB, the Nairobi Outer Ring Road Improvement Project added to the suite of bold initiatives guaranteed to contribute to the modernisation of the City of Nairobi.

“Upon completion, the project will result in the transformation of the outer ring into a four-lane highway, with interchanges and overpasses and construction of link roads. Besides, the project will be fitted with foot paths and cycle lanes, as well as incorporate a 9 m bus rapid corridor to be constructed at a later stage,” he mentioned.

Adding to this, Negatu reiterated that the projectwould transform livelihoods through the creation of sustainable opportunities in terms of jobs and businesses. He also under-scored the fact that the project was designed to respond to Kenya’s shortage of relevant skilled professionals including artisans and technicians, mainly due to a mismatch in training and labour market needs.

“At least 500 youths from poor and vulnerable backgrounds will be trained mainly in roads and highway-related middle-level pro- grammes. The training areas will include cobblestone technology, building and con-struction and plant operations,” he pointed out.

Kenyatta concluded by thanking the AfDB group for its support to the development of Kenya and for financing this project, which is a critical part of government’s commitment to Kenya’s Vision 2030. He also added that imple- menting agency the Kenya Urban Road Auth-ority must ensure that the project does not run over time, while also assuring its quality.