The Malindi Business community has threatened to move to court to block the Barclays -Mtangani road which is one of the World Bank urbanization projects seeking to upgrade the resort town.
Speaking on Thursday in Malindi, the community argues that they were not consulted as stakeholders in the road that serves tourists commuting to the prestigious resorts.
Led by Phillip Chai a veteran hotelier in Malindi the stakeholders working under the Malindi Progress Welfare Association said the road serves prestigious restaurants and residential areas and it needs to be done in a proper way and in their opinion, the proper way is upgrading it to Cabro standard.
READ ALSO Killer of Ganda ward MCA’s uncle still free eight months later
”We want the road to be of Cabro standard, if done it will be good for all of us and will be of great help,” he said.
The former North Coast Kenya Hotel Keepers and Caterers Association Chairman said all roads within the area from Majengo to Surahi restaurant, BP to Kichinjoni to Galana Hospital were made using Cabro and wondered why that one is being tarmacked.
He said attempts to get minutes of the municipality board or the Bill of Quantity for the road has proved fruitless as they have not been served with the documentation.
According to Chai if their request is not done they will seek to be furnished with all documentation and take the legal action so as to ensure their demands are met.
READ ALSO Relief for Kilifi rape victims after British sex pest is slapped with 18-year jail term
Earlier in the week, the Kilifi county engineer in charge of the road project Hatmy Nurein together with Malindi town manager Silas Ngundo confirmed that the road would be tarmacked in bitumen standards.
Nurein who is in charge of the road project said they designed the road for tarmacking bitumen level at a cost of Sh. 67 million.
Speaking at the site he said the work is supposed to take six months but the contractor has pledged to complete it in three months.
”I know there is the issue of drainage in my design I am going to take care of the drainage, we are going to put two cross culverts one is 900 millimeters and the other one is 600 millimeters,” he said.
Nurein said the project will include drainage and shoulders a stretch of eight meters wide and shall be ready by early November.
Malindi town Manager Silas Ngundo said the project was a big breakthrough to the many businesses that are along the road.
He said that upgrading of the road will help stem flooding that paralyzes transport along the road during the rainy season.
”Many visitors do not go to the hotels in the area because of the flooding but with the new project it will change a lot of businesses in the area,” he said.
Apart from the road, the World Bank grant will also see the development of a modern drainage system in the resort town together with the establishment of a recycling plant at the Malindi dumpsite
Comments
comments
