NAIROBI (Xinhua) -- The African Development Bank (AfDB) on Tuesday signed a 12.5-billion-shilling (167 million U.S. dollars) loan agreement with Kenya to finance a road project linking the east African nation with neighbouring Ethiopia.
Main objective of Mombasa-Nairobi-Addis Ababa Road Corridor Project is to promote trade and regional integration between Ethiopia and Kenya , by improving transport communications between the two countries.
The two countries which share more than 1,000 km of common border, and yet there is currently not a single all-weather road connecting the two, will also reduce transport costs, and significantly improve the offer of transport services with other counties in the sub-region.
Speaking during the signing ceremony, Kenya's Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta said the phase two of the project will cover a total of 123 km from Marsabit to Turbi to open up the northern part of Kenya to the rest of the country thus increasing inter- regional trade between the two nations.
"The project will also include construction of One-Stop-Border in Moyale, equipping of security outposts, and the drilling of community water wells and water harvesting schemes," he said.
Kenyatta said the first phase of the road project from Isiolo to Merille River , covering a distance of 136 km is going on well and was expected to be completed on schedule.
"The project is also consistent with our Vision 2030, where infrastructure development has been identified as a key input to moving this country into a middle-income country," Kenyatta said.
AfDB Resident Representative to Kenya Domina Buzingo said the expected outcomes of this project included reduced transport and logistic costs between Kenya and Ethiopia ; reduced transit travel time for goods and for people; and increased volume of Ethiopian transit goods using the port of Mombasa .
"It is also expected that the development of the corridor will expand market sizes beyond national boundaries and foster a conducive and enabling environment for the private sector," Buzingo said.
She said by increasing access to markets and social services for the surrounding areas and communities, the project will contribute to reduce poverty in both countries, and to empower disadvantaged groups through adequate roadside socio-economic infrastructure and services.
"The project road is an important section of the trans-African highway Cairo-Cape town, connecting the whole Africa ," Buzingo said.
The signing of this loan brings the Bank's total support to the transport sector in Kenya to 500 million dollars which is nearly 50 percent of the total financial interventions of the African Development Bank Group in Kenya .
Source:coastweek.com/
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