By DENNIS ONYANGO
The Kisumu County government has rolled out a Sh300 million project to upgrade roads in the region.
This is expected to open up the area for business and unlock its potential as an economic hub in Western region.
The project has currently kicked off in Nyakach, Seme, Nyando and Kisumu West sub-counties.
The county administration plans to unveil the initiative in Kisumu East and parts of Kisumu Central sub-counties next week.
Kisumu Governor Jack Ranguma said his administration has massive plans to improve transport in the region.
He said the initiative was part of the strategies the county has put in place to spur economic development in the region.
“We are preparing access to our target markets because we believe that Kisumu’s market thresholds go beyond our national borders,” he said, adding, “We have completed negotiations on the expansion of our ports and the construction of new ones. We are also developing a lake transport system that will make the flow of goods and people across the lake easier.”
The governor said the county has made infrastructure a top priority in a bid to lure investors and create employment opportunities for locals.
Youths from the region will be incorporated in face-lifting the roads as a strategy to create employment for them.
“Our ferries are already at the design stage. We are constructing roads, building bridges and sinking boreholes. We are building ferries and planning for railway construction,” said Mr Ranguma.
Ranguma said most of the tenders had been awarded, and he had instructed members of his executive to expedite the process.
County Executive Member in charge of Roads and Physical Planning, Vincent Kodera, said they expected the renovation work to begin immediately.
“We have finished all the procurement procedures and what now remains is for the exercise to kick off. It will be a good avenue for our youth to earn a living,” he said.
The upgrading exercise will offer new life to most of the roads in the county that are currently in a dilapidated state.
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Mr Kodera said the exercise had been derailed due to a detailed procurement exercise.
Kodera said the county was yet to begin installing floodlights, an effort aimed at giving the area a look befitting city status.
The initiative comes barely two weeks after members of the county assembly (MCAs) condemned the condition of some roads in the area.
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