This archive report was first published on 27 October 2019.
Published on October 27, 2019, the government has defended plans to encroach on Uhuru Park to make way for the JKIA-Westlands Expressway, a Sh60 billion highway project.
The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) has announced that 1.3 acres of land along Uhuru Highway will be hived off from the park during the construction of the highway.
According to government spokesperson Col. Cyrus Oguna, the section will be used to erect pillars for the elevated road, adding that the part is a road reserve for Uhuru Highway.
“Uhuru Park is public land and we, therefore, appreciate the emotions and sentimental value attached to it,” Oguna explained.
He added, “It is for this reason that only 23 meters of the park will be hived off for the land will be used to put up pillars that will support the elevated road. Upon completion, the section will have furniture, flower beds and other amenities that will enable Kenyans to continue enjoying the park,”
KeNHA has clarified that the 23 meters into the park are road reserve for Uhuru Highway, thus, Uhuru Park remains untouched.
The 27-kilometer highway will commence at JKIA and end at James Gichuru Road along Waiyaki Way in Westlands, with construction being done by the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) on a public-private partnership (PPP) model.
The double-decker road will have multiple interchanges at intersections on Popo-Kapiti, Lang’ata-Lusaka, Bunyala, Rhapta, and James Gichuru roads, and will also feature a bus rapid transit (BRT) system.
