Create an account
Infrastructure is a key component and indeed an enabler for long term development in the economy of Turkana County. The County has not witnessed much development in regard to infrastructure as successful post-independence governments did not pay due attention to this part of the country. With the 2010 constitution, the dawn of devolution has helped County invest in infrastructure development. There is evidence that is there for all to see; tarmac roads, feeder roads, hospitals, schools, water projects, etc.
The county road network is poorly developed. The county has a total road network of 5,496.2 km of which 488.5 km are bitumen, and 5007.7 km earth surface. The challenges faced by this sub- sector include seasonal rivers that cut through roads and poor soils that increase the cost of road construction and maintenance. As a result, a number of roads are rendered impassable during the rainy seasons. There is only one airport in Lokichoggio and 22 airstrips across the county. Lodwar air strip runway is tarmacked while the rest are just leveled grounds whose runways are not tarmacked. There are 315 primary schools and 32 secondary schools in the county. There are also two polytechnics namely Kakuma
Women Home Crafts and Lodwar Youth Polytechnic. The County has two colleges: Kenya Medical Training College and ECD Teachers Training College. There are only two campus universities; Mt. Kenya University in Lodwar and University of Nairobi in Lokichoggio Town. The Ministry of Higher Education, through the Economic Stimulus Programme (ESP) is constructing a Technical Training Institute in Lodwar. There are three mobile telephony operators in the county: Safaricom, which has larger network coverage, Airtel and Orange. The mobile network coverage in the county is 25 percent. Hydro-electric power from the national grid only connects to Kainuk Centre in the south. However, power generation in Lodwar Town is through the diesel powered generators.
Lokori, Lokitaung and Lokichoggio power generation projects stand at about 80percent complete. 95 per cent of the households use kerosene and firewood for lighting. The main 8 Office of the Governor, Turkana County Turkana County Investment Plan - 2016 - 2020 sources of cooking fuel are wood fuel, kerosene and charcoal. Solar energy is an emerging source of energy currently being used in pumping water and lighting especially in most schools in the county.There are all the three types of housing in the county. These include; Permanent units, SemiPermanent
and Temporary Units. Permanent houses are mainly found in the urban centres while temporary house units known as manyattas constitute the majority of housing in all areas; both rural and urban.
Investing in infrastructure constitutes one of the main mechanisms to increase income,employment, productivity and consequently, the competitiveness of an economy. The County will therefore undertake the following critical interventions;Increase investments in the road network to ensure communication between the regions by road is effective as well as open areas that can support growth of tourism, agriculture and enhance exploration of natural resources.
The target is to increasen bitumen surface that currently covers only 488.5 Km to 1,000kms and gravel more access roads leading to areas with economic potential. This will make travel into and out of Turkana County affordable, effective and efficient.Promote investments in building and construction industry. This is influenced by the fact that Turkana County major constraints is inadequate office space and housing for the growing population in the urban areas of Lodwar, Lokichar, Kakuma and Lokichoggio. Prolonged housing shortage leads to the proliferation of unplanned and informal urban settlements, hence the county needs to encourage PPPs to invest in construction of quality low cost housing, develop gated community housing as well as create an atmosphere of that enables entrepreneurs invest in hardware and interior design accessories. At the national level the housing supply is a low 35,000 units per year compared to a high demand of 150,000 units per year.
The County therefore aims at facilitating development of 2000 units per year. Zone strategic land along the main roads and the proposed railway to attract unique investors such as those in tourism, mining and manufacturing. This is in anticipation of improved railway operation systems emanating from the proposed LAPSSET project that seeks to improve the flow of goods through improved roads, railway and
pipeline construction.
The LAPSSET project will be a game changer for movement of goods from Turkana County. Just as the Uganda Railway opened up the East African region at the beginning of the 20th century, so also is the proposed LAPSSET railway expected to play a major role in stimulating socio-economic growth and development in the areas traversed by it in Kenya, Ethiopia and Southern Sudan
The LAPSSET project will be a game changer for movement of goods from Turkana County.Just as the Uganda Railway opened up the East African region at the beginning of the 20th century, so also is the proposed LAPSSET railway expected to play a major role in stimulating socio-economic growth and development in the areas traversed by it in Kenya, Ethiopia and Southern Sudan.
0 Comment Found...