Kenyan President William Ruto has inaugurated construction work on the Mtwapa-Kilifi dual-lane road, 40 kilometers that are part of the larger African Development Bank-funded highway project that will connect the Tanzanian town of Bagamoyo to the Kenyan town of Malindi, a $7.5 billion project that has already started on the Tanzanian side. A highway that will connect Africa's Indian Ocean coast and could create new developments for tourism, as Kilifi County Governor Gideon Mung'aro pointed out.
"Tourists used to get stuck along this road because of traffic jams. The town of Mtwapa needed a facelift, and the widening of this road will increase trade in this area. We want Mtwapa to become a 24-hour commercial center." Mung'aro said.
"This is an important link road between Kenya and Tanzania. It will boost trade and economies between the two countries. It will connect the East African Community in terms of integration, jobs, businesses and poverty eradication," Ruto said during the launch of the first phase of construction in Mtwapa. The importance of doubling the roadways of the road from Mombasa to Kilifi and then to Kilifi has been debated for years, and the roadway had already been widened before the pandemic to allow for future work. The Mwtapa-Kilifi section according to government plans should be completed in 36 months.