President William Ruto has expressed satisfaction with the construction pace of the 750km Isiolo-Wajir-Mandera road, a key artery that will connect northern Kenya to the rest of the country.
Standing at 40 per cent completion, the President noted that the KSh100 billion road project is progressing well and putting to shame critics and naysayers who doubted it would ever see the light of day.
“When I announced the construction of this road in February 2025, it looked like a story; it didn’t look real. Some even said it was a lie, and that it was not possible. But here we are today,” he said on Wednesday.
He made the remarks when he and Deputy President Kithure Kindiki inspected construction works along the Kula Mawe-Modogashe section of the road.
Also known as the Horn of Africa Gateway Development Project, the highway is the single longest road project in the country since Independence.
President Ruto said the project is one of the many interventions the government is making to correct historical injustices long suffered by the people of northern Kenya.
“I am very happy that we are finally opening up Kenya and connecting this nation. If any part of Kenya is left behind, we are lesser, we are poorer,” he said.
By connecting every part of the country, the President said we are harnessing the full potential of the nation become every part has something to contribute.
President Ruto said Kenya’s future lies in tapping the vast potential of the Northern Frontier, especially towards achieving national food security.
Consequently, the government seeks to build 10 dams in northern Kenya to provide clean drinking water to residents, generate electricity, and irrigate millions of acres using funds from the proposed National Infrastructure Fund.
President Ruto also noted that the 420km Isiolo-Garissa-Lamu road, which is being built at a cost of KSh27 billion, is well on course.
He assured the residents of the region that the two key road projects will not be delayed or derailed by sideshows or political critics.
President Ruto elaborated that the two transport corridors are part of the 6,000km roads currently under construction across the country.
“We have re-mobilised contractors who had been demobilised by debt and pending bills in 2021 and 2022, and we hope to complete all stalled roads by next year,” he said.
In the next phase, the President said the government has mapped out 28,000km of roads to be tarmacked, 1,000km of which will be in northern Kenya.
Earlier, the President laid the foundation stone for the construction of a KSh279 million modern tuition block at Garissa University and inspected the Garissa Township Affordable Housing Project.
He said the government is investing KSh750 million in college and university hostels that will host more than 1,700 students at the institution.
He also inspected the upgrading of the Garissa Airstrip which, he noted, is ahead of schedule and within budget. Once complete, the facility will boost passenger traffic by over 200,000 annually.
“We are going to discharge every commitment we made, and keep every promise to the people of Kenya,” President Ruto said.
