Over 65 young men and women in Embu County have landed jobs through the ongoing upgrading of the Kivwe-Karingari-Kevote-Nduuri-Kanja-Munyutu-Gorofa road, offering immediate financial relief to families along the corridor as major construction works pick up momentum.
The Ksh1.5 billion infrastructure initiative entails upgrading a total of 27 kilometers to bitumen standards.
Divided into two equal 13.5-kilometer stretches, the first section connects Kivwe, Karingari, Kevote, and Nduuri, while the second runs through Gitare, Kanja, Munyutu, and Gorofa, serving key farming and trading communities across the Runyenjes and Manyatta constituencies.
Beyond direct wages for local youth, the ongoing earthworks and daily construction activities are boosting the broader local economy by driving up demand for nearby goods and business services.
Fully funded by the Government of Kenya and supervised by the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA), official construction kicked off on April, following the conclusion of procurement and legal clearance processes.
Highlighting the overarching vision behind such infrastructure investments, President William Ruto noted, “In the next 7 years, we will build 28,000 kilometres of roads.We have the money to do it. This is not about politics or the next election, this is about transforming Kenya.”
Local agricultural producers and transport operators have voiced strong support for the ongoing Kivwe-Keringari-Kevote-Nduuri road upgrade, emphasizing its immediate economic benefits for smallholder farmers and rural transporters. Welcoming the infrastructure boost, local farmers noted that the tarmacked stretch will streamline the movement of fresh produce directly from agricultural hubs like Kevote to major commercial centers.
While casual observers might overlook the operational impact of rural infrastructure, local transporters and agricultural traders stress that the project directly addresses long-standing transit delays, helping vehicles navigate key feeder routes reliably and ensuring farm yields reach urban consumers without perishable losses.
The project forms an integral piece of the national government’s broader Roads and Transport Expansion Programme, an ambitious strategy aimed at tarmacking 28,000 kilometers of feeder roads and dualing 2,500 kilometers of major highways nationwide.
