This archive report was first published on 9 July 2019.
On July 9, 2019, the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) urged the State to intervene in a road project that had been abandoned by a contractor, causing major losses to businesses.
The project, which involved refurbishing the 6.1-kilometre Eastgate Road, was awarded to Nigerian firm Reynolds Construction Company (RCC) in 2013 and was expected to be completed within a year.
However, the contractor has been slow in undertaking the works, and the road has become impassable, causing significant disruptions to air travellers and transporters.
According to KAM chairman Sachen Gudka, companies have lost about 30 percent of their business due to the bad state of Eastgate Road off Mombasa Road, with trucks taking more than three hours to travel a stretch that would normally take 15 minutes.
Mr Gudka also noted that air travellers using the road to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport were greatly inconvenienced, spending two to three hours in traffic gridlocks.
He called on the national government to urgently oversee the repair of the road to save manufacturers and transporters from losses related to slow turnaround.
