The restoration of the Voi-Mwatate Meter-Gauge Railway, which includes a dry port in Voi, will position the town as a strategic logistics hub, stakeholders and residents of Taita Taveta Coutny are over the moon.

President William Ruto on Friday, April 10 launched, with fanfare, the project that he says will link the Port of Mombasa and the Taveta/Holili One-Stop Border Post along the Kenya-Tanzania border.

Economic comentators say the KSh5.5 billion project will revive the once vibrant Mombasa-Voi-Taveta-Moshi-Arusha-Singida-Bujumbura trade route, reducing the distance between Mombasa and Bujumbura by 358km.

Taita Taveta residents and businesspersons have lauded the initiative, as the railway will ease the movement of people and goods across the three countries, unlocking Taita-Taveta County’s mining potential and boosting the import and export of agricultural products such as sisal and maize in the region.

Kenyans react…