Kakamega: A contractor undertaking the Sh716 million state-of-the-art engineering complex at Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology has been asked to speed up the works to have the project complete by the end of 2026.

According to Kenya News Agency, Kakamega’s National Government County Development Implementation Coordination and Management Committee raised concern over the slow pace of the construction and urged the contractor, Pinnie Agency Limited, to hasten the construction works. A committee meeting presided over by Kakamega Central Deputy County Commissioner, Christine Chacha, was told that construction of the complex, which started way back in November 2021, was expected to take 208 weeks and was projected to have been completed by November 2025.

However, currently, the project is only at 29 percent progress, with Sh270 million having so far been paid to the contractor. The committee directed the contractor to provide a work plan towards completion of the project, whose date of completio
n has now been revised to November 2026.

Speaking during a CDICMC verification visit to the site, Madam Chacha raised concern at the slow pace of progress and asked the contractor to provide a work plan, stating the time frame within which to complete the project. MMUST Vice-Chancellor Prof. Solomon Shibairo, said the University had set aside an additional Sh95 million accrued from the University’s savings to hasten the construction. He, however, raised concern that there was minimal work going on.

According to Prof. Shibairo, once operational, the Engineering and TVET Complex will house the School of Engineering and Built Environment (SEBE) as well as the TVET institute. It will also have workshops, laboratories, conference facilities and lecture rooms, a theatre, offices, and a restaurant. The Engineering Complex has three wings and five floors with an underground design.