The transnational road project between Kenya and Tanzania will benefit from €345 million from the African Development Bank (AfDB), the pan-African body announced on Thursday in Abidjan.

The loan will be dedicated to the phase 1 of the construction of Mombasa-Lunga Lunga/Horohoro and Tanga-Pangani-Bagamoyo roads. This first phase involves the construction of 175 km of road sections including Mkanga-Pangani road section (121 km) in Tanzania and Mombasa-Kilifi (54 km) road section in Kenya.

The project, which costs of €399.7 million, will also receive a €30 million grant from the European Union. It is expected to benefit more than three million people in both Kenya and Tanzania.

“The project will have spillover benefits for hinterland countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and South Sudan that depend on Mombasa as a gateway to global markets,” said Hussein Iman, the Bank’s Regional Sector Manager for infrastructure, private sector, and industrialization.

Romuald Ngueyap