The completion of the first-ever privately funded road project in Kenya undertaken in Kajiado county has resulted in an economic windfall for the local residents.
At least 5 new towns have cropped up along the freshly tarmacked road over the last year.
Isara and Eserengei town have now been transformed into trade hubs with agri-business flourishing due to the ease of access to the farms in the area.
The 230km Isara-Imaroro-Kajiado-Isinya-Kiserian-Ngong-Suswa road estimated to have cost Ksh11 billion, has been described as a dream come true by the locals who have witnessed the doubling of their land value in just under a year.
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"We are hopeful that investors will put up high-end tourist vacation homes along the road. Kajiado is strategically a tourist destination town and we are optimistic of reaping more benefits now,
"We now receive customers in the farms. Transport and vehicle maintenance costs have gone down by 40%
a resident told the media during a recent interview.
Construction of the road, which cuts across all the five constituencies in Kajiado County, started in the early years of the Jubilee administration and was split into three stretches, each with its own contractor.
The road is under the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (Kerra) low volume seal (LVS) roads category, which was created following a presidential directive to build 10,000kms of roads countrywide.
Kajiado Governor Joseph ole Lenku recently explained that the new road cuts across horticultural belts in Eselenkei and Isinya and opens the area to huge food markets in the county's satellite towns of Kitengela, Isinya, Kiserian, Ngong, and Ongata Rongai.
The annuity financing model used in the road project allowed private contractors to design, build and maintain public roads using their own resources, with the Treasury reimbursing lenders at a uniform rate for cash advanced for the projects.
The annuity model also reduces Kenya’s reliance on foreign loans to fund projects, thereby easing public debt.
The Treasury has lined up 80 projects worth Ksh1.1 trillion to be executed via the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model cutting across sectors with the bulk in transport and infrastructure, energy, health, and education.
The Kajiado success story breathes a new lease of life for the Roads Annuity Program which has been facing a number of interlocking challenges mainly defined by inadequacy of financing partners.
Other key road projects highlighted under the Road Annuity Project include the dual-ling of the Nairobi-Mombasa highway with the commercial contract already in place.
Others are the second Nyali Bridge in Mombasa and the Nairobi-Narok-Mau Summit highway.
