County Government of Laikipia

In Laikipia, two ambitious programmes are helping transform the transport infrastructure landscape at a pace only imaginable before. Smart Towns Initiative and the leased construction equipment programme are working simultaneously to deliver a robust transport network in urban centres and rural areas of the county respectively. The rural roads upgrade programme is linking farmers to markets in urban centres, whereas the Smart Towns Initiative is accelerating commercial activities as investors cash in on improved business environments. The equipment leasing programme will see the upgrading of more than 450 kilometres of roads in the first phase that ends September this year. This will happen in less than a year into operations according to executive in charge of Roads Infrastructure, Joseph Shuel.We have achieved remarkable progress despite an initial hurdle of limited equipment, Mr. Shuel said, adding, We have raised our equipment inventory, so we expect to do more roads this financial year. The leased equipment programme is opening rural areas to commercial agriculture, accelerating large scale agricultural production as more investors move in to exploit the agribusiness opportunities the budding transport routes are providing. The two are complemenTing each other to deliver the governments pledge to create conducive environments for businesses to flourish. The Smart Towns drive has now achieved 1.2 kilometres of cobble-stone paved streets and bus parks in Rumuruti and Wiyumiririe towns each. Sipili and Kinamba towns now have 2.5 kilometres each of tarmac streets through collaboration with the national government. In Nanyuki town, over 7 kilometres of roads around business premises have been tarmacked. Nyahururu is the biggest beneficiary of the ongoing urban remake, with over 9 kilometres of streets tarmacked. The upgrades have revitalized commercial activities around abandoned business premises such as go downs in dilapidated backstreets. Oljabet town has been targeted for upgrade in the next financial year. Courtesy of Smart Towns programme, urban centres like Rumuruti, Sipili and Kinamba are now fast rising commercial hubs, as investors rush to put up commercial spaces to house expanding businesses and startups.