NAIROBI, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- The dualling of the 27 km Nairobi eastern bypass, which is being constructed by China Communication Construction Company, will be completed in June, a Kenyan official said.
James Macharia, the cabinet secretary of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, said that the construction of the road which began in January is currently 30 percent complete and will take six months to be completed.
"It is a major piece of infrastructure in terms of the overall master plan of Nairobi," Macharia said during an inspection tour of the eastern bypass late Friday.
He said that the project was being funded by the government to the tune of about 12.5 billion shillings (about 110 million U.S. dollars). He revealed that the contractors have committed to spend at least 44 million dollars in local content in order to boost the country's economy.
Macharia said that the road construction project has also employed 660 locals.
The eastern bypass is part of the Nairobi ring road network master plan consisting of the Northern, Eastern, Southern and Western bypasses and was mooted in order to reduce traffic jams around the city center by navigating around the metropolis.
According to the government official, the eastern bypass connects Nairobi-Mombasa road to the Thika superhighway which is part of the Great North road that runs from Cairo in Egypt to South Africa's Cape Town. ■