Infrastructure

Thika road expansion begins.

05 Nov, 2008

Nakumatt supermarket on Thika road is one of a number of buildings to have been demolished as the long-awaited road expansion project gets underway.

The bulldozers set to work early in the morning of 1 November, reportedly catching many shopkeepers and residents unawares. The demolitions, which are set to continue, are thought to have already caused losses running to millions of Kenyan shillings.

Under the project Thika Road, running northeast out of the city centre, will get four lanes in both directions starting at the Pangani roundabout and finishing in Thika town. The existing roundabouts will be replaced by a system of flyovers and underpasses in a development that is expected to ease the flow of traffic between the capital and the relatively prosperous Central province. Thika road is notorious for heavy congestion and potholes.

The project will be financed by a Ksh10.5 billion loan from the African Development Bank.