On 13th November 2024, Nakuru County Governor Susan Kihika officially broke ground for the construction of the Rongai (Salgaa) Level 4 Hospital, marking the beginning of one of the county’s most significant healthcare projects in recent years. The KSh249.8 million development transformed a five-acre parcel of land at Salgaa Trading Centre that had remained undeveloped for years into the site of a modern public health facility.
Strategically located along the busy Nakuru–Eldoret Highway, the planned 90-bed hospital is intended to improve access to healthcare for residents of Rongai Sub-County while strengthening emergency medical services along one of Kenya’s busiest transport corridors. The facility will include an Accident and Emergency Department, two operating theatres, a maternity wing, a newborn unit, modern laboratories, inpatient wards, and other specialised medical services.
The project carries particular historical significance because of Salgaa’s long association with serious road traffic accidents. The nearby Sachang’wan tanker explosion of January 2009, which claimed more than 130 lives, exposed the urgent need for improved emergency medical infrastructure in the area. Following the tragedy, land was identified for a medical facility, but development did not proceed, leaving the site vacant for well over a decade as communities continued to rely on distant hospitals for emergency treatment.
The groundbreaking ceremony, therefore, represented more than the start of construction. It marked the revival of long-standing plans to establish a major public health facility in Salgaa and renewed hopes of improving emergency response, maternal healthcare, surgical services, and specialised treatment for thousands of residents and travellers using the Northern Corridor.
Once completed, the Rongai Level 4 Hospital is expected to reduce pressure on Nakuru Teaching and Referral Hospital, shorten travel times for patients seeking specialised care, and strengthen healthcare services across western Nakuru County. The ceremony marked an important milestone in the continuing development of public health infrastructure in Nakuru County.
