The government of Kenya has secured $750 million from the World Bank for projects aimed at improving the movement of people and goods in the country’s northeastern region.
The bank said in a statement that the fund would be used on projects to improve the digital connectivity and access to social services for over 3.2 million people.
Development Diaries learnt that the fund would also target areas covered by the Isiolo-Mandera regional road corridor.
Through the Horn of Africa Gateway Development Project (HoAGDP), the World Bank would finance the upgrading of 365 kilometres of the 740-kilometers Isiolo-Mandera road and 30km of spur roads, while the upgrading of the remaining sections will be financed by other development partners.
The potential of northeastern Kenya as transit and regional trade facilitation zone is presently not fully exploited, according to lead transport specialist Josphat Sasia.
‘This transformative project will integrate the region and enhance security, inclusion, and a sense of equity, which the communities living in this underserved region of Kenya have desired for a long time’, the statement quoted Sasia as saying.
‘Successful implementation of the project will require the support of the leadership and communities of the region’.
The Country Director for World Bank Kenya, Keith Hansen, said, ‘Promoting equal opportunities across the country and linkages in the sub-region will strengthen Kenya’s transformation from a low middle income to a middle-income country by 2030’.
‘We believe that this investment, envisioned as a backbone project under the North and North Eastern Development Initiative, will contribute significantly to the government’s efforts to ensure shared prosperity’.
Source: World Bank
Photo source: Øystein Rød Tveito