Sheladia Associates, Inc. was recently selected to provide consultancy services for the design review and construction supervision of an 80 km stretch of highway in northern Kenya. Turkana County, located in the north-western part of the country, is largely pastoral and faces alarming levels of poverty with 94% of the population living below the poverty line (compared to 49% nationally). This regional imbalance is due in large part to the population’s remoteness, resulting in poor access to critical services, markets and information.

This World Bank-funded project, which will upgrade the road between Lokitaung Junction and Kalobeiyei River Road from gravel to asphalt standard, is intended to make Turkana County a more attractive environment for doing business, thereby stimulating economic development while increasing the local population’s connectivity to resources in Kenya and the surrounding region. As a part of the Eastern Africa Regional Transport, Trade and Development Facilitation Project (EARTTDFP) this roadway section is part of the larger Juba-Eldoret corridor, which supports interregional trade with the economies of Ethiopia, Uganda, and South Sudan, provides a cost-effective connection to the nearest sea port of Mombasa in Kenya, and serves as the main gateway for humanitarian aid and trade from Kenya into South Sudan.

Sheladia experts will carry out the detailed engineering design of the road, assess and manage the environmental and social impacts of the project, provide supervision of road construction works, and provide capacity building and training in contract management to Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) officials and engineers. The Sheladia team is proud to continue our work in Kenya and contribute to another project with the potential for far-reaching economic and social impacts.