Following Eldoret’s elevation to city status in 2024, President William Ruto has announced plans to upgrade Bungoma Town to city status.
The Head of State while speaking at a rally in Bungoma Town on Friday revealed that the government had already set up a comprehensive plan for a city in the populous county.
“Things to do with the old airstrip, you told me that the one that was near Bungoma town no longer works. We have built another airstrip at Matulo which is functioning. Now, the piece of land where the old airstrip was, which is nearly 37 acres, will be used in our plans to expand Bungoma town up to the new airstrip so that we have a modern city in Bungoma County,” he said.
Ruto announces plan to confer city status to Bungoma Town
According to Ruto, plans to elevate the Western Kenya town to a city include construction of affordable houses and mapping out of a Central Business District (CBD).
“We have already done the planning, mapped out a new CBD and we are going to build 2,000 houses under the affordable housing project starting next month as the fifteenth story building in the town so that residents can live in a city,” Ruto added.
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Last year, Ruto also promised to rehabilitate the Matulo Airport by extending its runway and constructing a new terminus.
The President said that a modern airport would be a game changer for Bungoma and traders within the devolved unit who were initially forced to travel to Eldoret to access air transport.
If granted city status, Bungoma will join Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, and Eldoret as the only cities in Kenya.
President Ruto in August 2024 awarded Eldoret a city charter and a seal making it Kenya’s fifth city.
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Eldoret granted city status
He signed the charter, sealing the town’s city status on August 17, 2024, during a ceremony attended by governors from the North Rift Economic Bloc (NOREB) region including the host, Uasin Gishu’s Jonathan Bii.
The Head of State reaffirmed that Eldoret had met the criteria required for an urban area to become a city after vetting by the Senate.
“Now therefore in exercise of the powers conferred on the head of state under section 7 of the Urban Areas and Cities Act, I Kipchirchir William Samoei Ruto, president of Kenya and Commander in Chief of Kenya’s Defence Forces do hereby ordain, declare and direct that the municipality of Eldoret has been conferred with city status,” Ruto declared amid cheers by hundreds of residents who witnessed the fete.
He said Eldoret should now focus on the great opportunities and significant challenges ahead, not only because the future is urban, but also because it has what it takes to emerge as the ultimate city of the future.
Ruto noted the future development and prosperity of Eldoret lies in the strategic framework laid down by the county through its planning, policy and regulations, as well as other mechanisms that must deliver a safe, orderly, ecologically sustainable and efficient city that promotes the dignity and well-being of residents and communities.
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