HOLILI/TAVETA  — President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania and his Kenyan counterpart, President Uhuru Kenyatta, launched the construction of Mwatate-Taveta Road in Kenya last week that will link with Arusha-Taveta to connect the central and northern transport corridors in East Africa.
President Kenyatta said: “This is one of the missing links aimed at enhancing the East Africa Integration objectives, and a crucial link between Kenya and Tanzania. Once the road is complete, it will attract large-scale investors in Kenya and Tanzania, and that free trade and non-tariff trade barriers will improve business in the EAC region.”
The 90 kilometre road is being constructed by a Chinese road construction company, China City Construction Group. The volume of cross-border trade between Kenya and Tanzania will increase by 50%  once the Arusha-Mwatate road is complete, outgoing Tanzania President Jakaya Kikwete has said.
The main objective of connecting the two transport corridors is to easeinterconnectivity transport in the EAC region through infrastructure development and trade facilitation. The northern and central transport corridors connect the people of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. These corridors also provide port access to the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Southern Sudan.
The launching ceremony is a culmination of the African Development Bank (AfDB) funded grand road project in the East African region, which is expected to boost trade and spur growth and prosperity in the region. A few months ago, the Arusha to Tengeru expansion road was launched in Arusha under the AfDB loan package. Tanzania and Kenyan governments are the co-funding partners in the road projects.
In the next phase a stretch from Tengeru is earmarked to run all the way to Taveta via Moshi and Himo towns in Kilimanjaro region. The stretch will involve a four-lane dual carriageway in which a bypass toad is expected to beconstructed.The modernization of the road transport infrastructure is crucial for both national and regional road traffic and to sustain economic growth in the area, trade expansion and investment, which are also critical in developing and supporting a dynamic and robust private sector in the EAC region.
The road project is set to augment infrastructure development in the transport corridors of the region.
Source: East African Business Week

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