Nairobi News

HashtagNews

NMS: We’ll complete road project by end of the year

By Collins Omulo September 16th, 2020 2 min read

The Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) plans to complete the recarpeting and tarmacking of roads in the city centre and surrounding areas by December.

The NMS recently said that, it intends to speed up road repairs across the capital, with work on a new asphalt (bitumen) plant almost complete.

NMS Transport, Roads and Public Works director Michael Ochieng said the plant on Kangundo Road would produce 2,400 tonnes of bitumen daily.

He added that the amount is enough to recarpet three kilometres of road.

The NMS, which is led by Maj-Gen Mohamed Badi, has been relying on asphalt from a plant on Nanyuki Road in Industrial Area.

The Nanyuki Road plant can only produce 150 to 300 tonnes of asphalt a day, slowing down the pace of the road improvement project.

Mr Ochieng said completion of the Kangundo Road plant would boost the project and beat the set deadline.

Asphalt is a dark bituminous substance that is found in natural beds.

FACE OF THE CITY

It is also obtained as a residue when refining crude oil and is used in the tarmacking and recarpeting of roads.

Kenya Urban Roads Authority (Kura) recently announced it would begin upgrading 408 kilometres of roads in the capital’s informal settlements before the end of this month.

The Sh5.8 billion project, which the NMS is part of, is expected to take advantage of the new asphalt plant.

Most roads in the city’s informal settlements get muddy when it rains and dusty during drought.

NMS has been carrying out an ambitious infrastructural project aimed at changing the face of the city.

Apart from rehabilitating and recarpeting roads, the agency has been improving drainage in the capital.

MAJOR STREETS

The City Hall Way roundabout has been recarpeted and Kirinyaga (formerly Grogan) Road improved. Recarpeting of Accra Road is also ongoing.

There have been improvements on Kenyatta Avenue and other major streets.

Priority had been given to non-motorised transport, with focus on pedestrian walkways and cycle lanes.

Non-motorised transport lanes have been completed on Kenyatta Avenue and Wabera Street, while similar work is ongoing on Muindi Mbingu Street.

The NMS said the project is aimed at improving walking spaces and encouraging city residents to start using bicycles “since this mode of transport is safe, efficient and economical”.

The objective is to do more than 100 kilometres of non-motorised transport in the capital in just a year.