NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 6 – New investment, expanding businesses and easier access to agricultural markets are emerging along the Kenol-Marua corridor, as the upgraded highway reshapes economic activity in rural Nyeri.

Residents and workers along the route say the project is creating opportunities beyond transport, with farmers gaining easier access to markets, businesses benefiting from increased activity and local workers securing employment during construction.

The 84-kilometre project involved the dualling of the Kenol-Sagana and Sagana-Marua sections, including the Marua Interchange and associated infrastructure. The corridor forms part of the Great North Road linking Nairobi with the Mount Kenya region and northern Kenya.

According to Nyeri residents like Agnes Wambura Murage, the economic impact is already becoming visible through increased investment and commercial activity.

“The Kenol-Marua dual carriageway has brought a lot of development to this region. It has eased movement from the interior parts of the country to the urban centres and opened up the rural areas.”

She said the highway was making the region more attractive to investors while helping local producers get their goods to market. “A lot of investors have invested in this region compared to past years. Our produce from the farms reaches the market easily.”

Agriculture remains a major economic activity in Nyeri and surrounding areas, with farmers producing coffee, tea and horticultural crops.

Murage said the road had made it easier to transport agricultural produce to buyers. “This is a coffee-producing area. We have coffee, tea and other horticultural products that reach the market through this road.”

Farmers and traders say the improved route provides a more direct link between production areas and major commercial centres.

Residents say the development is also supporting infrastructure beyond the main carriageway, including feeder roads and access to essential services.

“The government has put in place development in our region, which is quite good. Beside politics and everything else, the government is delivering,” said Micky Micky, a resident of the area.

He said the wider infrastructure improvements were helping communities access economic opportunities and services.

The corridor links agricultural and commercial centres in central Kenya with northern Kenya and the Moyale border, giving it significance beyond the communities immediately along the road.