By Kepher Otieno - Reporter
Kenya, 2 September 2026 - For years, poor roads were among the biggest brakes on economic activity in Kuria East Constituency.
Farmers struggled to move produce to markets. Traders endured long and expensive journeys. Patients faced difficult access to health facilities. Boda boda operators and matatu crews navigated roads that became particularly treacherous during the rains.
That story is changing.
An estimated 120 kilometres of roads have now been tarmacked across Kuria East, opening previously difficult-to-reach areas and creating a new transport corridor with the potential to reshape trade, tourism and rural enterprise.
Residents are giving the national government a thumbs-up for the road projects, saying improved connectivity is already making movement of people and goods easier.
The transformation has also been reinforced by local road works championed by Kuria East MP Marwa Kitayama, who has focused on repairing, grading, gravelling and opening up rural roads to complement the major national government projects.
When Kitayama entered Parliament in 2017, roads were among his key priorities. He began lobbying the Ministry of Roads for resources to upgrade the constituency's dilapidated transport network.
One of his major requests was the Kehancha–Kegonga–Ntimaru–Gwitembe–Ang’ata Baragoi corridor, an E166 road covering about 75 kilometres.
He also pushed for the Tarang’anya–Senta–Ntimaru D201 road, covering about 20 kilometres, alongside the Isebania–Masangora–Senta–Kegonga–Kugitimo–Masurura security road, an E163 corridor covering about 55 kilometres.
The breakthrough came with the national government's allocation of Sh2.8 billion for the flagship rural roads programme covering Isebania, Ikerege, Kehancha, Ntimaru, Gwitembe, Ang’ata and Lolgorian.
The road was launched in 2018 during the Jubilee administration.
Today, the tarmac stretches from Isebania through Kehancha and Kegonga to Ntimaru, Gwitembe and Ngata Baragoi before continuing towards Lolgorian on the Kuria-Transmara border.
For businesses, the significance goes beyond smoother driving.
Better roads reduce travel time, vehicle operating costs and post-harvest losses. They allow farmers to reach larger markets and make it easier for traders to move goods between trading centres.
They also improve the prospects for investment.
Kuria East is a major agricultural area, with farmers engaged in livestock keeping and crop production. Improved roads create opportunities for aggregation centres, cold-chain facilities, agro-processing enterprises and other businesses that depend on reliable movement of raw materials.
The road network is also opening a tourism frontier.
The route provides an important link towards the Maasai Mara, one of Kenya's premier tourism destinations, strengthening prospects for business tourism, cultural tourism and eco-tourism.
Tour operators, hotels, restaurants, transport companies and local enterprises stand to benefit from increased traffic along the corridor.
The region also has access to important cultural and heritage attractions, including Thimlich Ohinga, the UNESCO World Heritage Site, providing another potential anchor for cultural tourism.
The improved road network connects with the C13 corridor towards Muhuru Bay and Oloolunga in Narok County, strengthening links between western Kenya, the Maasai Mara region and Nairobi.
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For residents and businesses, one of the biggest gains is time.
The improved connectivity has significantly shortened journeys towards Nairobi, reducing transport costs and making the movement of people and goods more predictable.
But the tarmac is only one part of the transformation.
Kitayama has also overseen efforts to open and improve more than 15 rural roads, including routes around Wangirabose and Biasumu, alongside grading and gravelling works.
Among the roads that have benefited from such interventions are routes linking Kegonga, Tarang’anya, Ntimaru, Senta, Nyamtiro, Kebarisia and surrounding trading centres.
The strategy is designed to ensure that villages and farms do not remain isolated from the new trunk-road network.
Bridges are another critical component.
The Remuchuni Bridge has been upgraded to modern standards, while plans are advancing for additional bridges at Gibagiri, Remonchari, Remokong’u and Remokohi, with design work under way and funding plans being developed.
For boda boda riders and matatu operators, better roads mean fewer breakdowns and lower maintenance costs.
For farmers, they mean faster access to markets.
For young people, they could mean greater access to jobs and commercial opportunities.
And for investors, they offer something perhaps even more valuable: connectivity.
The emerging road network is steadily integrating Kuria East into wider regional markets while strengthening its links to Migori, Narok, the Maasai Mara and Nairobi.
The economic question now is how quickly businesses can respond.
Road infrastructure alone cannot transform an economy. It must be matched with investment in markets, storage, processing, tourism facilities, financial services and skills.
But the foundation is being laid.
Kuria East is increasingly moving from an economy constrained by distance and poor roads to one connected by tarmac.
And as the road network expands, so does the constituency's economic horizon.
Road Revolution Opens Kuria East to Business as 120km of Tarmac Unlocks Rural Economy
Kitayama has also overseen efforts to open and improve more than 15 rural roads, including routes around Wangirabose and Biasumu.