A road accident scene: The transport regulator should focus on the
training of drivers, who must know they can lose certification. FILE
By DOREEN WAINAINAH
In Summary
- But not everyone is celebrating the new roads. Residents of exclusive neighbourhoods have seen the new network erected right next to their fences, leaving their homes exposed to passers-by and motorists.
Three years ago, Timothy Kimani, 27, bought a
small plot in Ruiru near an area marked out for the construction of the
Eastern By-pass.
The investment was Sh80,000 but has today appreciated to Sh700,000, according to the most recent valuation. He is a happy man.
“I will continue holding onto the land and develop it as the city expands towards that area,” he said.
The Eastern by-pass has also made the daily
commute from Nyayo Estate Embakasi to Westlands, easier for Steve Muiga,
an employee of a private firm.
Previously, it took him almost three hours to make
the same journey that has more than halved to about an hour going
through the by-pass.
The two are some of the residents of Nairobi, and
its environs who have benefited from the ongoing construction of roads,
by-passes and link roads.
The construction has opened up new areas,
especially along the new roads, easing daily commute and raising the
value of real estate in the area.
An eighth of an acre plot located along the
Eastern By-pass, which runs from Mombasa Road through Njiru, Thika Road
onwards, was priced at an average of Sh250,000 but has since shot up to
Sh1 million or more with the opening of the road.
“The Thika Road expansion is also proving a
powerful pull for property developers and established retail
entrepreneurs, eager to take advantage of untapped demand,” said Actis
Managing Director Michael Turner, in an opinion piece carried in the Business Daily.
Actis is investing Sh21.6 billion in a new
development along Thika Road, dubbed Garden City, that is expected to be
the biggest shopping complex in East Africa.
The new roads are a sigh of relief for city
residents as they ease traffic and with the by-passes and link roads, as
the names suggest, avoid the city centre traffic.
“Improved access and mobility has quickly fostered
a thriving informal sector in the satellite towns of Ruaraka, Kasarani,
Githurai, Ruiru and Thika. On a broader scale, increased activity has
been reported between Nairobi and the Central and Eastern corridors;
strengthening trade flows in and out of the capital,” said Turner.
Grace Mumbi, a resident of Langata, is eager to see the Southern By-pass completed.
She plans to enrol her daughter in a school in
Karen, near Lenana School, mid next year. The commute from her home to
the school via the by-pass will only take five minutes, unlike the
lengthy route via Bomas of Kenya, which takes over half an hour.
No comments :
Post a Comment