Kenya: Chinese roads cut traffic jams

NAIROBI. – Chinese-built ring roads are reducing traffic jams in Kenya’s capital city Nairobi through the development of a loop line around east Africa’s largest urban centre that provides alternative routes for moving around the area.

The Nairobi ring road network master plan consists of the Northern, Eastern, Southern and Western bypasses and was mooted in order to reduce traffic jams around the city centre by navigating around the metropolis.

The Nairobi Southern bypass which was constructed by China Road and Bridge Corporation ( CRBC) was completed in 2016. The road was funded jointly by the China Exim Bank and the Kenyan government.

The 28,6 km bypass dual carriageway begins on the southern edges of the capital city on the Nairobi-Mombasa road and terminates in Gitaru in the northern part of the town and connects to the Western bypass. The CRBC began construction of the Western bypass at a cost of 17 billion shillings ( US$ 157 million) in 2019.

James Macharia, cabinet secretary, Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development said that the 16km Western bypass will be completed by the end of 2021.

He said that the dual carriageway will play a big role in decongesting Nairobi city by providing an alternative route to move within the city. The eastern bypass which is already in use was constructed by CRBC and forms a ring road that connects the southeastern and northeastern outer fringes of Nairobi city and also links the northern bypass and southern bypass. –Xinhua.