Ruto: I’ll fix Nithi Bridge before 2027, procurement starts tomorrow

"Ruto has many degrees but still listens to class 3 and 6 dropouts. Gachagua, with just one degree, refused to take our advice. I tried advising him,

You told me that we shall have a fall out about this Nithi Bridge, you told me to either fix the bridge or we will fall out. I heard you, and I will fix it. It requires Sh7 billion, which is a lot of money, but I will fix it by all means. We are starting the procurement of the Nithi Bridge tomorrow. Not because you are here, no, it is because you told me there are consequences," he said.

“It is an expensive bridge, but we must do it to save lives, to ensure motorists, passengers using that side of the road do not endanger their lives.”

Nithi Bridge is a black spot on the Embu–Meru road that has claimed numerous lives due to its dangerous design.

He spoke on Monday when he leaders from Tharaka-Nithi County, State House, Nairobi.

In April, Ruto secured financing for the construction of the Nithi Bridge.

State House spokesperson Hussein Mohammed cited the Nithi Bridge project as one of the key outcomes of Ruto’s visit to the People’s Republic of China.

He stated that the deal was reached during high-level discussions between President Ruto and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“China agreed to work with Kenya on implementing strategic connectivity development projects,” Mohammed said in the April 24 statement.

Under the agreement, China will partner with Kenya on the construction of the bridge, weeks after President Ruto pledged to complete the project by 2027.

“These include investments in the extension of the Standard Gauge Railway to Naivasha (Phase II) and from Naivasha to Malaba (Phase III), as well as the expansion and dualing of the Nairobi-Nakuru-Mau Summit–Malaba highway, the Kiambu-Northern Bypass, the Eldoret Bypass, and the construction of the Nithi Bridge,” the statement read.