Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has announced that the government has expanded the planned Lake Victoria Ring Road project to include the 112-kilometre Kisumu-Busia Highway, increasing the length of the flagship corridor from 500 kilometres to approximately 612 kilometres.

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Speaking on Wednesday on Ramogi FM , Mbadi revealed that President William Ruto had already approved the ambitious road network, which is expected to transform transport, trade and connectivity across western Kenya.

According to the CS, the expanded project will be financed by the World Bank and will comprise multiple highways, link roads and spur roads designed to unlock economic activity around the Lake Victoria basin.

"The President has approved the Lake Victoria Ring Road. We have submitted our proposals, which will include two major highways, with one being in the Rift Valley," Mbadi said.

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"We want Kisumu-Busia to be part of the Lake Victoria Ring Road. These together will be World Bank-funded. Initially, we had six roads within the project, but this has now been expanded to seven roads," he added.

The inclusion of the Kisumu-Busia Highway is particularly important as the route forms part of the Northern Corridor, one of East Africa's most strategic transport networks linking Kenya to Uganda and the wider Great Lakes region .

The corridor serves thousands of cargo trucks, traders and passengers daily, facilitating movement between the Port of Mombasa and landlocked countries including Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan and the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The latest update comes barely a week after Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah raised concerns over the deteriorating state of the Kisumu-Busia road, warning that poor conditions, potholes and inadequate safety measures were contributing to frequent accidents.

The project has been under discussion for more than a decade and is expected to become one of the largest road infrastructure investments in western Kenya.

Earlier this year, the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) initiated engineering and design works for several corridors around Lake Victoria under the World Bank-funded Lake Victoria Basin Development Project.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke