AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina in Kenya for four-day tour

Akinwumi Adesina, the president of the African Development Bank. PHOTO | POOL | AFP

By VINCENT OWINO

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The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina, is in Nairobi for a four-day tour of the country, in which he will inspect key projects of the

bank in the country.

Dr Adesina will inspect the Kenol-Sagana-Marua highway project, which is co-financed by AfDB to the tune of $191 million, while the Kenyan government contributes $52 million, and the Africa Growing Together Fund giving $33 million.

Read: ADESINA: Africa must industrialise so that its global share of trade moves beyond just 2pc

The project involves upgrading of the current 84km two-way single bitumen road to a two-lane dual carriage way, and is expected to ease access to the northern corridor by reducing time by about 26 percent and cost by 35 percent.

“The road will reinforce the Kenyan government’s efforts to improve the quality of life of the Kenyan people. It will reduce travel time, expand markets beyond national boundaries and boost rural productivity in the project regions,” AfDB’s Director General for East Africa, Nnenna Nwabufo commented on the project

The highway connects the capital city to the central, upper eastern and northern parts of the country, and is part of Kenya’s section of the Trans-Africa Highway, connecting Cairo to Cape Town, “which aims to promote trade, enterprise and general movement across Africa, and therefore regional economic and social integration.”

As per the initial plan, the project should be completed by the end of 2024, and also involved construction of complementary social facilities including construction of a hospital trauma centre, bus parks, a modern market and bodaboda sheds.phase of the highway, spanning 36km from Kenol to Sagana, should be completed by end of July this year.

While in Kenya, Dr Adesina will meet senior government officials, including President Uhuru Kenyatta and Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury and Planning, Amb Ukur Yatani, who is also the bank’s Governor for Kenya.

He is also set to meet members of the diplomatic corps in Kenya and representatives of the bank’s international development partner countries “to discuss opportunities for continued collaboration.”