The World Bank’s board of directors approved on Wednesday, September 8, 2020 the first project that will benefit Kenya under the new Horn of Africa Initiative (HoAI) Program. The $750 million funding under the International Development Association financing will be implemented within six years and will benefit over 3.2 million people in the Northeastern region.
The project was launched during the World Bank Group /International Monetary Fund Annual Meetings in Washington, DC in October last year. The World Bank will finance the rehabilitation and upgrading of the 740 kilometers Isiolo-Madera Regional Road and 30-kilometer spur roads through the Horn of Africa Gateway Development Project (HoAGDP). Running alongside this regional road is the installation of fiber optic cables that will boost connectivity within the local communities especially during disasters or trade facilitation.
Josphat Sasia, Lead Transport Specialist and Task Team Leader said that Northeastern Kenya has the potential to become the trade corridor, a prospect that has not been fully explored to date.
This project can spur the much-needed socio-economic progress and bring about political stability in the region.
