Hamster255
JF-Expert Member
- Mar 19, 2018
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What Sh70b Lake Victoria ring road mean for Western Kenya economy
Construction plans for a 470-kilometre road along the shores of Lake Victoria have raised hope in the region that it will stimulate the local economy. The design of the Sh70 billion road running from Bumala on the Busia border with Uganda to Muhuru Bay on the Migori border with Tanzania is complete and has been approved.
The road will meander its way through Busia, Siaya, Kisumu, Homa Bay and Migori. Expected funds are from development agencies such as the World Bank and the African Development Bank. The road will take up to three years to complete, according to summary papers on the project. The Government is rooting for one-off funding to have the phases run concurrently.
It is expected to accelerate free flow of goods and services across five counties while providing connectivity to the rest of the country’s national road network, hence spurring economic growth. It could also catapult the western Kenya tourism circuit onto the global tourism map since it extends access to destinations such as Rusinga Island, Ndere Island National Park, Kit Mikayi and key historic attractions across the region. A design seen by The Standard shows the project, to be undertaken by at least six contractors, will run very close to the lake, passing through major beaches such as Sio Port and Port Victoria in Busia; Usenge, Uhanya, and Asembo in Siaya, and Kaloka, Paga and Dunga in Kisumu. Paga beach has been identified as the location for the proposed Sh13.7 billion new Kisumu port, to be built as an extension of the Standard Gauge Railway to Kisumu. The road is, therefore, likely to play a crucial role in the revival of maritime trade on Lake Victoria.
From the Kisumu port, the road will run along the lake to Korando, near the Kisumu International Airport, from where it will branch off and lead into the Kisumu-Busia highway at Otonglo market.
due to the swampy nature of the Nyando plains, from Kisumu town the road will follow the established Kisumu-Nairobi road, branching off at Ahero town towards Katito. Here it will veer off the road leading to Kendu Bay, heading back towards Homa Hills along the shores and again to the Kendu Bay pier and stretch to Bay town.
At the Mbita junction, it will turn towards Sindo, Sori, Karungu and Muhuru Bay beaches. Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) Nyanza Regional Director Felix Osongo said according to the design, the road would be one of the least disruptive as it runs mostly in low-inhabited lakefront rural settlements. Public amenities “That report is not yet out but we do not expect a lot of disruptions in settlements, and especially public amenities like schools.
Mr Osongo added that in towns, the road would follow established networks, thus “even in areas in town where we might need to upgrade existing roads, the current road reserves will cushion the project from additional costs”. The project comes at a time when new reports by the Kenya Marine Fisheries Research Institute (Kemfri) have re-evaluated Lake Victoria’s fisheries at about Sh40 billion annually. This is more than three times the Sh12 billion collected from the industry, according to the report.
The introduction of nearly 4,000 fish cages on Lake Victoria have shored up earnings as effort (number of fishermen on the lake) also went up in the last three years, according to Kemfri Director Kristopher Aura.
Construction plans for a 470-kilometre road along the shores of Lake Victoria have raised hope in the region that it will stimulate the local economy. The design of the Sh70 billion road running from Bumala on the Busia border with Uganda to Muhuru Bay on the Migori border with Tanzania is complete and has been approved.
The road will meander its way through Busia, Siaya, Kisumu, Homa Bay and Migori. Expected funds are from development agencies such as the World Bank and the African Development Bank. The road will take up to three years to complete, according to summary papers on the project. The Government is rooting for one-off funding to have the phases run concurrently.
It is expected to accelerate free flow of goods and services across five counties while providing connectivity to the rest of the country’s national road network, hence spurring economic growth. It could also catapult the western Kenya tourism circuit onto the global tourism map since it extends access to destinations such as Rusinga Island, Ndere Island National Park, Kit Mikayi and key historic attractions across the region. A design seen by The Standard shows the project, to be undertaken by at least six contractors, will run very close to the lake, passing through major beaches such as Sio Port and Port Victoria in Busia; Usenge, Uhanya, and Asembo in Siaya, and Kaloka, Paga and Dunga in Kisumu. Paga beach has been identified as the location for the proposed Sh13.7 billion new Kisumu port, to be built as an extension of the Standard Gauge Railway to Kisumu. The road is, therefore, likely to play a crucial role in the revival of maritime trade on Lake Victoria.
From the Kisumu port, the road will run along the lake to Korando, near the Kisumu International Airport, from where it will branch off and lead into the Kisumu-Busia highway at Otonglo market.
due to the swampy nature of the Nyando plains, from Kisumu town the road will follow the established Kisumu-Nairobi road, branching off at Ahero town towards Katito. Here it will veer off the road leading to Kendu Bay, heading back towards Homa Hills along the shores and again to the Kendu Bay pier and stretch to Bay town.
At the Mbita junction, it will turn towards Sindo, Sori, Karungu and Muhuru Bay beaches. Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) Nyanza Regional Director Felix Osongo said according to the design, the road would be one of the least disruptive as it runs mostly in low-inhabited lakefront rural settlements. Public amenities “That report is not yet out but we do not expect a lot of disruptions in settlements, and especially public amenities like schools.
Mr Osongo added that in towns, the road would follow established networks, thus “even in areas in town where we might need to upgrade existing roads, the current road reserves will cushion the project from additional costs”. The project comes at a time when new reports by the Kenya Marine Fisheries Research Institute (Kemfri) have re-evaluated Lake Victoria’s fisheries at about Sh40 billion annually. This is more than three times the Sh12 billion collected from the industry, according to the report.
The introduction of nearly 4,000 fish cages on Lake Victoria have shored up earnings as effort (number of fishermen on the lake) also went up in the last three years, according to Kemfri Director Kristopher Aura.
