Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia issued an ultimatum to engineers from China Wu Yi firm over the delays in the Ksh16 billion Waiyaki way expansion project.
The project involves the expansion of the 25km James Gichuru-Rironi Road stretch along Waiyaki Way into a superhighway. The project, which began in 2017, was slated to be completed in December 2020.
The CS said that the delays were becoming more frequent, and gave an ultimatum for the road to be completed by the end of July 2021.
"That's not what we agreed on. You told us December 2020, then it was February 2021, then April and now you want December? It can't work like that. We've been helping you with everything that you have asked and now you want more time?
"I thought we're coming to prepare for the commissioning, but now it cannot be done because you're saying three kilometers are not ready. What we want now is to get a firm commitment that the road will be completed in the next two months," he issued an ultimatum to the engineers.
In their defense, the firm claimed that the delays were caused by unavoidable circumstances. Engineer Sanjay Kumar added that construction works on the road is 85 percent complete and affirmed that the 3-kilometer stretch would be finished in due time.
The project is running concurrently with the erection of the Nairobi Expressway which will connect Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to the neighborhood of Rironi, in Kiambu County, along the Nairobi-Limuru Road.
Kenya has prioritised the modernisation of the country’s infrastructure as being critical to future development.
This has seen President Uhuru Kenyatta affirm the government's commitment to boost the transport sector through major infrastructural projects in order to achieve vision 2030.
The aim of Vision 2030 by the government is to create a globally competitive and prosperous country with a high quality of life for all its citizens.
