Kenya-Ethiopia road now awaits commissioning

The highway linking Kenya and Ethiopia is now complete and awaiting official commissioning President Uhuru Kenyatta and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.

This is after the launch of the last mile of the road in Marsabit yesterday, in a symbolic gesture presided over by Infrastructure Principal Secretary John Mosonik.

The 500 kilometre Kenyan segment of the landmark road was built in four lots - Isiolo to Merille, Merille to Marsabit, Marsabit to Turbi and finally, Turbi to Moyale.

The entire transport corridor runs from Mombasa to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital city. What is remaining is to connect the new road to Ethiopia network, which is already complete.

Progress made

“This is a critical milestone for Kenya. Through the completion of this modern road, our people now have a chance to deepen their relationship with our neighbours in Ethiopia. This road will not only open up the vast land it traverses it will also improve security,” said Mosonik.

The PS and his entourage also inspected the just-completed One Stop Border Post (OSBP) on the border between the two countries at Moyale. The OSBP will allow for convenient passport and Customs controls at the border crossing, for where hitherto, citizens would have to report to two points on both sides of the border, they will now have to make do with just a single stop.

Also in attendance were other officials at the roads department including the chairman of Kenya National Highways Authority (KENHA) Erastus Mwongera and the Governor of Marsabit Ukur Yatani. The function was also attended by KENHA Director-General Peter Mundinia and representatives from the European Union and the African Development Bank, which co-financed the key infrastructure project.