Dualling of the Kenol-Marua highway near Karatina town in this picture taken on November 24, 2021. FILE PHOTO | NMG
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has closed a case filed against the Chinese firm dualling Kenol-Sagana-Marua Road, averting further delays in the completion of the Sh16.7 billion project.
The pan-African lender in a communique said it closed the case on March 15 after residents along the project line and the Chinese contractor, Jiangxi Transportation Engineering Group resolved the differences.
The residents had written to AfDB accusing the Chinese firm of encroaching on 34 acres of their land for excavation of construction materials and failure to restore borrow pits, prompting the lender to put the project on ice.
AfDB says the suspension period of the 84-kilometre stretch started in December last year and ended in February, as the lender investigated if the Chinese contractor had addressed the grievances in the affected areas of Kakuzi, Kiine and Rukanga.
The lender’s intervention forced the Chinese firm to compensate residents for the additional 34 acres, paid the final instalment of royalties and restored borrow pits (K9 –Makuyu and K32 –Makutano).
“On 14 March 2023, the Complainants informed the Independent Recourse Mechanism (IRM) that their complaint had been successfully resolved to the satisfaction of all parties and that they were ready to close out their original complaint registered with the IRM,” AfDB says in the notice.
“The IRM informs the Complainants and Management of its decision to formally close this case and notifies all other stakeholders of this decision by the publication of this notice.”
The project that started in October 2020 is part of the Great North Road, a pan-African artery connecting Cairo and Cape Town, which in Kenya runs from Namanga to Moyale through Nairobi.
Residents had sought AfDB’s intervention after the county governments along the project line, the Chinese firm and the National Environmental Management Authority failed to address their complaints.
“The Contractor’s actions violate our rights and cause environmental harm to the community. We implore the Bank to intervene by investigating our concerns and ensuring that the Contractor acts in compliance with Bank policies and procedures,” the residents said in a letter to AfDB.
Expansion of the road is part of efforts by the Kenyan and Ethiopian governments to deepen mutual trade relations and make it easier for the Horn of Africa nation to access Kenya’s port facilities.
The Ethiopian government had earlier said that the road will offer a cheaper route to import goods using Mombasa Port, compared to a port in Djibouti.
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