The Kenyan Government has reportedly placed a value of 3.5 Trillion Kenyan Shillings on its roads. The news is coming before a major audit that will help with the maintenance of the large road network and also point towards the impact of major spending on public infrastructure over the past eight (8) years with the President Uhuru Kenyatta administration.
The agency which is in charge of overseeing the repair and development of roads; the Kenya Roads Board (KRB), made known the valuation in the tender seeking consultancy to conduct a two (2) year survey on the condition of roads in Kenya.
The valuation of the 246,757.26 kilometres of roads which of course includes the 40,002.34 kilometres of trunk roads is right now, quite higher than Kenya’s budget of 3.06 trillion Kenyan Shillings. It shows the impact of the President Uhuru Kenyatta administration’s decision to speed up its investments in roads over the past eight (8) years.
Data from the Kenya Roads Board (KRB) revealed that the East African nation of Kenya has 161,821 kilometres of roads that are classified, 34,000 kilometres of roads that are not classified or new roads, road reserves of more than 9 metres and 50,000 kilometres of narrow roads that have a road reservation of less than 9 metres.
In 2014, Kenya had 76,100 kilometres of roads. This means that 85,721 kilometres of paved roads and unpaved roads were added in the five (5) years leading up to June of 2019. From 2010, Kenya has added 10,395 kilometres of paved roads to end June of 2019 with 21,295 kilometres.
According to the Kenya Roads Board (KRB), “Kenya’s road assets are estimated at over Sh3.5 trillion, representing one of the largest public investments in the country.”
Official data revealed that in the five (5) years leading up to June of 2020 Kenya, spent a total of 524.76 billion Kenyan Shillings on road development with an additional sum of 255.7 billion Kenyan Shillings going to maintenance and repair.
The Kenya Roads Board (KRB) is currently looking for a consultant who will be able to carry out a Road Inventory and Conditions Survey (RICS) so as to inform future investments. A Road Inventory and Conditions Survey (RICS) is essentially the process of compiling data or information regarding road assets.
The Kenya Roads Board (KRB) believes that the survey will help with more insight into the current condition of the roads and also ensure that the right capital plans and maintenance plans are made.
In the words of the Kenya Roads Board (KRB), “The overall objective of this study is to conduct a RICS on the country’s entire road network and its facilities aimed at getting data needed to make informed decisions about the network.”
The consultant who will eventually work with the Kenya Roads Board (KRB) will also be expected to carry out an assessment of a number of road sections in terms of their standards of development,!traffic levels and of course safety levels.
The consultant will in addition, be expected to carry out an inventory of the bridges and major structures that support the road network, and carry out a documentation of their conditions. A total of four (4) other consultants will be required as well for the collection of data on the road network in the various counties along with the unclassified roads.
The last Road Inventory and Conditions Survey (RICS) was done from the period of 2016 to 2018 and showed the improvement in quality and also the quantity of the road network.
According to the Kenya Roads Board (KRB) roads which were in good condition increased to 56.9 percent in 2018 from the 44 percent that was the case in 2009.
A study in 2018 which was backed and funded by the World Bank also came up with a Rural Access Index (RAI) for every county, along with a country average figure.
A Rural Access Index (RAI) is a global indicator used for measuring or determining the access to reliable transportation for people who live in rural areas. It is also usually an indicator of the precise socio-economic status of individuals who live in said areas.
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