Started in October last year and the completion date supposed to be April 2021, Chengoni Bridge in Kilifi South was supposed to be a saviour to the residents of Kaloleni and Mwaarakaya.
However, for now there is only wood and few pieces of timber laid across the river, and there is no activity ongoing four months to the completion date.
The bridge is supposed to cost Ksh55 million funded by the government through the Equalisation Fund.
On Monday, November 9, a team from the Special Funds Accounts committee visited the site only to find a ghosted site, where only Ksh5.5 million has been spent on construction so far.
“The construction of this bridge started in October last year and the completion date is supposed to be April 2021. We are four months to the completion date and he (contractor) has done up to 24 per cent,” said Committee chairman Murungi Kathuri.
When the team visited, the contractor was not on site, despite being informed of the visitation, indicating that there is no hope of even completing the work.
Read: 3,000 People To Be Displaced Over Sh46 Billion Likoni Bridge
“There is no work going on at the site at the moment and the contractor is not even around despite sending him a communication that we will be visiting today,” added Kathuri.
According to a “site engineer” who was on site, the contractor was attending “other duties”, and the company had applied for extension of construction period by two months.
“We have applied for extension of the completion period with two months so by June the bridge will be complete,” he said.
Nyandarua Woman Representative Faith Wairimu noted that the site had been abandoned and there was no promise that the contractor would complete the job even with the extended time.
“Grass has grown where you store your wheelbarrows, a clear demonstration that they are not being used. We have not seen even a single person working here. How can we tell this is an active site?” posed Wairimu.
Even as the rainy season approaches, the river could claim more lives and it might take another contractor to complete the project.
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