A Chinese firm started tarmacking a 40 km road network that is used by tourists visiting the world's famous Maasai Mara National Park in southwest Kenya.
Narok County Governor Samuel Tunai said Tuesday the project, undertaken by Nanchang Foreign Engineering Corporation that won the 13.3 million U.S. dollar contract, is expected to be completed in the next two years and employ 200 youths from the region.
He said Narok town is the gateway to the Maasai Mara game reserve, and improved infrastructure, will attract the investors to the region.
Deputy President William Ruto, who presided over the groundbreaking ceremony, said the poor state of the road has negatively affected the tourism sector that he stated is an important component to the country's economy.
"Tourism is one of the country's economic pillars. Despite the challenges that the sector continues to grapple with, the government is committed to ensuring that roads leading to our parks be maintained properly. The realization of Vision 2030 is pegged on one of these pillars," he said, adding that the road, once completed, will make it easy for tourists to access the park.
"We want to improve all the roads leading to Maasai Mara because the tourism is economic pillar and will work closely with the local county government," said Ruto.
His sentiments come at time when tourism stakeholders had expressed the concerns over the poor state of the Maasai Mara roads.
Maasai Mara is Kenya's major tourist attraction, most popular safari destination, and home to all the mainstream wildlife. It is a vast reserve of endless flat grassland crossed by rivers, which play host to wildlife's most spectacular moments that include the great wildbeest migration.
