The tarmacking of roads covering about 95 kilometres in Gichugu Constituency, Kirinyaga County, has gained momentum following the return of contractors to construction sites, raising hopes among residents and farmers of improved transport and access to markets.

The project is expected to open up several areas, linking Njukiini through Ngariama to Karumande and connecting the road network to Kabare, improving access to markets and essential services.

Gichugu Member of Parliament (MP) Robert Gichimu Githinji, who inspected the ongoing works, said the road network could be extended to 100 kilometres to accommodate additional links to public utilities.

Githinji said he had pursued the upgrading of the roads for years and welcomed the government’s response to residents’ longstanding demands for improved infrastructure.

He assured residents whose roads were not included in the current programme that efforts to secure additional allocations would continue, adding that he would push for more kilometres of tarmac in the next funding cycle.

“I will follow up on the other roads that the government allocates to us so that we can also get several kilometres connecting us to the tarmac road towards Embu. I have not finished pursuing the Gichugu roads,” he said.

The MP expressed optimism that the constituency could secure an additional 150 kilometres of tarmacked roads in future, arguing that improved infrastructure would support agricultural production and stimulate economic activity.

“This is an agricultural area. You can see coffee everywhere, alongside macadamia, avocados, bananas and other crops. This road will put more money in farmers’ pockets because they will be able to access markets easily and quickly,” he said.

He added that improved connectivity could increase the value of land in the area and attract investment, including people working in Embu and other neighbouring areas who might wish to purchase land or establish homes in Gichugu.

Githinji also expressed hope that the constituency would benefit from additional road projects under the proposed Infrastructure Fund, saying he would continue lobbying for more resources to expand the network.

For farmers, the ongoing works will lower transport costs and more reliable movement of agricultural produce, particularly during the rainy season when poor road conditions often disrupt transportation.

Isaiah Nyaga, a farmer, said the project would ease the financial burden on farmers who have been paying high transport charges to deliver coffee to factories noting transporting coffee to a factory during the rainy season could cost as much as Sh300, compared with about Sh100 under improved road conditions.

“What we are getting is a big win. During the rainy season, we are charged about Sh300 to transport coffee to the factory, but now it is just Sh100. That is a big profit for us farmers,” Nyaga said.

Residents have also welcomed the development, describing the return of contractors as a sign that a long-awaited infrastructure project is finally taking shape.

Catherine Njeru, a resident of Njukiini, said the community had waited for years for the roads to be upgraded, with some residents beginning to doubt whether the promise of tarmac would ever be fulfilled.

“We are seeing it, and we have believed that this matter of tarmac, which we have waited for a long time, would finally happen. We used to think we would never see it,” she said.

Njeru said she previously had to travel about 8 kilometres from her home to reach the nearest tarmacked road, a journey she expects will become much shorter once the works are completed.

The project is expected to improve transport links across the constituency, ease the movement of agricultural produce and strengthen connections between rural communities and key commercial centres.

By Mutai Kipng’etich