NAIROBI, Kenya June 10 – The government has set aside Sh310.7 billion for ongoing infrastructural projects by President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration as he cements his legacy.
Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani announced on Thursday when he tabled the highlights of the budget for the Financial Year 2021/2022 that Sh182 billion will go towards supporting the construction of roads and bridges as well as their rehabilitation and maintenance.
In particular, he said, Sh94.7 billion will go towards facilitating the ongoing road and bridges construction while Sh36.1 billion has been set aside for the rehabilitation of roads.
A further Sh54 billion will be utilized for road maintenance.
“The Government has been scaling up the construction of modern highways as well as urban and rural roads in every part of the country. This will open up many areas to economic activities and spur growth,” he said.
In a move aimed at reducing traffic congestion within Nairobi’s Central Business District and improve public transport, Yatani said that Sh1.3 billion will go towards facilitating the construction of the Railways Metro Lines.
The ongoing construction of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) Phase Two also received a major boost as the government has pumped 27.2 billion shillings to go towards its construction.
On ports, CS Yatani noted that Sh7.5 billion has been set aside for the construction of the Mombasa Port Development Project; and Sh7.5 billion for the LAPSSET Project.
Yatani has maintained that the government is committed to scaling up modern highways as well as urban and rural roads in every part of the country for economic growth.
During his Budget presentation, Yatani noted that Kenya’s economic growth is expected to rebound to 6.6 percent in 2021.
“This recovery reflects the lower base of 2020 when most service sectors were adversely affected by the closure of the economy recording negative growths,” he said and noted that the outlook in 2021 will be reinforced by the prevailing stable macroeconomic environment and the ongoing implementation of the strategic priorities of the Government under the Big Four Agenda and Economic Recovery Strategy.
While Kenya’s budget has soared to Sh3.6 trillion, CS Yatani noted that Kenya’s public debt is sustainable and downplayed fears of Kenya economy going into a recession.
The theme for this year’s budget was “Building Back Better: Strategy for Resilient and Sustainable Economic Recovery and Inclusive Growth”.
