Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen on Wednesday directed a contractor in charge of a section of the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport (LAPSSET) Corridor project to ensure that it is complete in 9 months.
The CS made the remarks while visiting Lamu to assess the Lamu-Wito-Garsen-Gamba Road that was completely cut off by floods making transportation from the Lamu Port to Ethiopia impossible.
The road, which was expected to facilitate the transportation of 60,000 tonnes of fertiliser to Ethiopia, was destroyed by floods forcing travellers to resort to using boats to cross a section of the road.
As a result, over 800 trucks have been stuck on the road for several days now.
"We still have a problem in Gamba. The problem has caused a lot of losses to businesses because we know many Kenyans want to travel to Garissa as well as to Mombasa. You can see at Gamba that boats are being used to transport people and goods," he stated.
"The biggest loss we have is that we had marketed the Port of Lamu through Lapsset and talked to South Sudan and Ethiopia and they agreed to use the Port of Lamu. They brought 60,000 tonnes of fertiliser but after arrival, we experienced a flooding problem."
Murkomen, therefore, assured businessmen that the country was doing its best to ensure the fertiliser is transported since Ethiopian farmers are currently in their planting season.
To solve the perennial flooding menace, the CS further noted that the contractor of the Lapsset section between Lamu and Ijara had to agree to complete the stretch by February next year.
"We are here on the Lapsset Corridor connecting Lamu to Ijara which is 250 kilometers. This road will be the solution. We have agreed with the contractor that the work should be complete by February next year to solve this problem we have of flooding," Murkomen added.
Construction on another section between Garissa and Isiolo along the corridor has already begun.
Generally, the CS further revealed that the floods, which affected the whole country beginning in March this year, caused damage on roads estimated between Ksh25 billion and Ksh30 billion.
"We have lost so many roads and we have done research and we need between Ksh25 billion to Ksh30 billion to repair the roads but more research will still be done to ascertain the exact figure," he explained.
Some 238 lives have since been lost and over 200,000 people displaced by the floods.
