The government of Kenya has set aside Sh 310billion for ongoing infrastructural projects that President Uhuru Kenyatta races against time to seal his legacy.
Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani made the announcement while presenting the 2021/22 budget. Sh 182billion will go towards supporting the construction of roads and bridges as well as their rehabilitation and maintenance.
Sh94.7 billion will go towards facilitating the ongoing road and bridges construction while Sh36.1 billion has been set aside for the rehabilitation of roads. A further Sh 54billion will be utilized for road maintenance.
โThe Government has been scaling up the construction of modern highways as well as urban and rural roads in every part of the country. This will open up many areas to economic activities and spur growth,โ said CS Yatani.
Rebound in economic growth
Sh 1.3 billion has been set aside to facilitate construction of the Railways Metro Lines which aims to reduce traffic congestion within Nairobiโs Central Business District and improve public transport. The ongoing construction of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) Phase Two also received a major boost as the government has pumped 27.2 billion shillings to go towards its construction.
Sh7.5 billion has also been set aside for the construction of the Mombasa Port Development Project and another Sh7.5 billion for the LAPSSET Project. Kenyaโs economic growth is expected to rebound to 6.6% in 2021.
โThis recovery reflects the lower base of 2020 when most service sectors were adversely affected by the closure of the economy recording negative growths. The outlook in 2021 will be reinforced by the prevailing stable macroeconomic environment and the ongoing implementation of the strategic priorities of the Government under the Big Four Agenda and Economic Recovery Strategy,โ said CS Yatani.
