NAIROBI, June 18 (Xinhua) -- The construction of the transnational highway between east African countries Kenya and Tanzania will begin in early 2020, the financier said on Tuesday.
Gabriel Negatu, east Africa director general of the African Development Bank (AfDB) said in Nairobi that funding for the 460km road should be approved in September.
"Both the Kenya and Tanzania governments have finalized all their requirements to pave way for the construction of the coastal highway," Negatu said during the Kenya roadshow for the upcoming second edition of the Africa Investment Forum.
The forum which is scheduled to take place from Nov. 11 to 13 in South Africa is the continent's investment marketplace for accelerated economic transformation.
Negatu said that the Kenya-Tanzania transnational highway is expected to cost 75.1 billion Kenyan shillings (751 million U.S. dollars).
Negatu said that highway runs through Malindi, Mombasa and Lunga Lunga on the Kenyan side and Horohoro, Tanga and Bagamoyo on the Tanzanian side.
The transnational highway is among the infrastructure projects being prioritized by the East African Community. AfDB will finance 70 percent of the coastal highway while the governments of Kenya and Tanzania will cover the remaining 30 percent.
