48 hours left to repair bridge for Turkana oil transportation

Kainuk Bridge in Turkana County which collapsed due to heavy rains. The bridge is undergoing repairs. FILE PHOTO | NMG 

By SAMMY LUTTA

More by this Author

Summary

• The Kainuk Bridge, which connects Turkana to other regions and links Kenya to South Sudan, was damaged due to heavy rains.
• The authority Thursday went for a "plan B" after opting to erect a temporary bailey bridge, which is commonly used by the military, to ensure passage of Turkana oil on trucks, which will be flagged off Sunday by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
• The Cabinet Secretary Petroleum and mining John Munyes Thursday expressed confidence the bridge will be ready for the oil exports.

The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) has less than 48 hours to repair a collapsed bridge that is key to the road transportation of crude oil from Lokichar to Mombasa on Sunday.

The Kainuk Bridge, which connects Turkana to other regions and links Kenya to South Sudan, was damaged due to heavy rains. The authority Thursday went for a "plan B" after opting to erect a temporary bailey bridge, which is commonly used by the military, to ensure passage of Turkana oil on trucks, which will be flagged off Sunday by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The Cabinet Secretary Petroleum and mining John Munyes yesterday expressed confidence the bridge will be ready for the oil exports. "I applaud the relentless works of the officers from the ministry of transport and ministry of defense. They work day and night to ensure the bridge is completed ahead of the presidential visit to flag off oil on 3rd June. I applaud the relentless work of the officers from the ministry of Transport and ministry of Defence. They work day and night to ensure the bridge is completed ahead of the presidential visit to flag off oil on June 3." Transport over the bridge, which links Kenya to South Sudan, has been paralysed for weeks owing to its structural weakness following heavy rains, which displaced more than 10, 000 people and swept away cars and lorries.

The trucks transporting food items, relief food, petroleum products, general hardware products and construction items have made long queues from the banks of the river.

At least 30 trucks transporting fish from Lake Turkana are stranded as they await repairs on the bridge to end.

Kenya will start the small scale export of crude oil from its fields in Turkana on Sunday after an agreement on how to share the revenue, averting delays.

A row had broken out after President Uhuru Kenyatta cut the share of the Turkana county government to 15 per cent and that of the local community to five per cent, leaving the rest to the national government.

He then met officials from Turkana at State House in Nairobi to strike a new deal, which will raise the county government’s share to 20 per cent and cut the national government’s to 75 per cent.

ALSO READ: Cost of Turkana oil pipeline now drops by Sh100 billion