Feature: Kenyans upbeat as Chinese-built modern roads set to ease mobility

These are the scenes at a section of the Eastern bypass that is being upgraded into a dual carriage by China Communication Construction Company (CCCC).

The road is part of a network of roads constructed to divert traffic away from the city center by allowing navigation around its periphery towns. Its completion in June envisions easing traffic snarl-ups and stimulating economic growth along its corridors and beyond.

Citizens expressed their delight to Xinhua during an interview on Tuesday.

"The traffic experienced around this area has over time made my location unattractive to faraway clients. An upgrade will serve to retain them and even bring in new clients," Benjamin Ndeto, a tire shop owner along the road's corridor told Xinhua in a recent interview in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

The Eastern bypass that stretches for 28 kilometers from Mombasa road to Thika superhighway started to experience an influx of users after the towns surrounding it registered exponential growth. Consequently, its single carriageway design was rendered deficient.

Over the years, the government has invested heavily towards improving road connectivity to maximize social-economic opportunities. Together with its partners such as China, the Kenyan government has been able to rehabilitate, improve and construct roads in cities, towns, and far-flung areas that are historically underserved by such amenities.

"This residential area (Utawala) only started to assume urban status when the roads started coming, initially homes, hospitals and businesses were countable if not completely absent. But once you build roads, important amenities such as hospitals and banks move close to citizens," said Ndeto.

Speaking with unrestrained passion, Ndeto told Xinhua how he has witnessed the uptake of job openings at the construction site.

"When I sit outside my shop and see young men and women working I am filled with such joy because I know how tough times are for these young people. At least twice a week a young man will pass here seeking employment," said Ndeto.

According to the cabinet secretary for Transport Infrastructure and Urban Development, James Macharia, the project has employed at least 660 Kenyans.

Amos Kamanja, a surveyor at the construction site, trudges through the graded road with his face powdered with dust. "I have educated my children by doing this (construction work), I feed them by doing this and I will continue doing it until I am presented with another opportunity," said Kamanja.

"The pay is reasonable and I work beside some very skillful fellows therefore I am always learning every day," he added.

Amos offers that he was part of the workers that brought Kenya's mega railway infrastructure project to successful completion in 2017. He said that through the project he received rudimental training which boosted his skills.

In July 2021, the Chinese built Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) marked 1,500 days of safe operation. The modern railway which runs from Mombasa to Nairobi has been lauded for energizing the movement of goods and people.

Alongside the SGR, a road christened Nairobi expressway running from South to West Nairobi is deepening the transformation of the metropolis. The elevated road built by Chinese contractors is in its final stages and is to be commissioned this year.

Its usage is eagerly awaited as it is set to shorten travel from two hours to just 20 minutes during peak hours.

Mini-van driver Mary Gathoni who plies the Eastern bypass route said she will increase the number of rounds she makes in a day because of the road upgrade.

"I will be doing more than 15 because there will be no traffic, even those passengers who stopped using our route will come back," Gathoni said.

Government statistics show that the construction sector registered an 11 percent growth compared to a growth of 5.6 percent recorded in 2019.