Skip to main content

Kenya key road connection improvement work underway

Upgrade work is now underway on the B9 Isiolo to Mandera route connecting Kenya with neighbouring Somalia and Ethiopia.
September 13, 2019 Read time: 1 min

This 748km stretch of road will benefit from a new asphalt surface. The project is intended to help boost stability in the region, which has suffered from poor infrastructure and has been subject to attacks by rebel groups. The 1,200km journey from Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, to Mandera has typically taken two days by bus in good weather. However by improving the surface along the B9, the journey times will be reduced considerably. Mandera sits on the border with Somalia and Ethiopia, in Kenya’s north east, and upgrading the B9 will improve transport. However the road links in both Somalia and this area of Ethiopia are extremely basic, so barriers will remain to cross-border traffic.

Related Content

  • Two new road links will help boost Uganda’s economy
    October 3, 2014
    Uganda has unveiled plans for the construction of two road projects considered critical in enhancing the integration of the Eastern African economies and boosting the landlocked country's socio-economic performance - Shem Oirere writes The new Rukungiri–Kihihi–Ishasha/Kanungu and Bumbobi-Bubulo-Lwakhakha roads in Uganda feature a design influenced by the desire to harmonise modern road standards in East Africa. These new links will also cater for the current acute shortage of gravel for road construction
  • Kenya highway work awarded
    October 13, 2020
    An important highway contract in Kenya has been awarded.
  • Kenya highway projects now underway
    April 7, 2017
    Work on two major highway projects are now commencing in Kenya. One project will improve the road connection between Kenya’s capital Nairobi, with its premier port of Mombasa. The other project will see the upgrade of the road link joining Kenya with neighbouring Uganda. Work on the Mombasa to Nairobi highway is starting on a 42km stretch between Mombasa and Marikani. This work is costing some US$213.4 million and the improved route will feature two lanes in either direction when the work is complete. Meanw
  • Chinese firm wins highways expansion project to decongest Nairobi
    January 5, 2017
    A Chinese contractor is carrying out a major road project intended to cut congestion in Kenyan capital Nairobi – Shem Oirere writes Chinese contractor China Wu Yi has won a US$163 million contract for the reconstruction and expansion of a 25km highway leading out of Kenya’s capital Nairobi with financing from the World Bank. The contract was awarded by the country’s National Highways Authority (KeNHA), a state-owned road agency responsible for the management, development, rehabilitation and maintenance of i