The construction of a Mombasa-Nairobi Expressway is set to begin early next year, former United States ambassador to Kenya Kyle McCarter, who is at the centre of the ambitious Sh455 billion project, has announced.
Usahihi Expressway Limited, the project developer, has inched closer to delivering the ambitious road project after completing the project feasibility study as Everstrong Capital, the United States based sponsor of the project, stepped up efforts to raise the required funds.
Mr McCarter said Everstrong Capital has entered the last phase of fundraising for the 444-kilometer road project which is expected to end in December to pave the way for the start of the actual civil works in the first quarter of next year.
Out of the Sh455 billion to be raised for the project, some Sh129 billion will go towards acquiring the land required for the new road.
“The construction of the Usahihi Mombasa-Nairobi expressway will take anywhere between three to four years to complete. We will have five contractors that will be doing the construction of the road all at once so that we can get this done as soon as possible and make it possible for people to enjoy the road,” said Mr McCarter who is the chairman of Usahihi Expressway Limited.
A section of Daraja Mbili, a roadside market on the border of Kajiado and Makueni counties along Mombasa-Nairobi highway. Plans for the expansion of the473-kilometer road into the Nairobi-Mombasa Expressway underway.
Photo credit: Pius Maundu | Nation Media Group
Mr McCarter made the revelation Monday during a meeting with top Makueni County government officials in the first of a series of such meetings targeting counties on the road corridor.
“Everstrong Capital, the sponsor of Usahihi Mombasa-Nairobi expressway, has started a tour of all the counties that are going to benefit from this new investment in Kenya. We picked Makueni to start the stakeholder engagement because it has the longest portion of the road,” he said.
Usahihi Expressway Limited handed the project’s feasibility study report to the National Environmental Management Authority for perusal earlier this month.
After which it will seek the final approval from the public-private partnerships unit at the National Treasury.
Mr McCarter said the Mombasa-Nairobi expressway project will not cost Kenyan taxpayers a cent because it is sponsored by private developers who will operate the road for 30 years to recoup their investment by charging toll fees before handing it over to the Kenyan government.
According to Mr McCarter, the Mombasa-Nairobi expressway is set to be one of the biggest toll roads in Africa.
The four-lane dual carriageway is touted to reduce the time taken to travel from Mombasa to Nairobi from 10 to four hours and the cost of fuel used for the same journey by 30 per cent.
He said the project comes with three new cities along the corridor, 12 highway exits linking it to existing townships and key facilities along the Mombasa-Nairobi highway, eight rest areas and three wildlife crossings to ensure that it does not endanger wild animals.
Makueni Deputy Governor Lucy Mulili called on Usahihi Expressway Limited to ensure that the project creates job and business opportunities for locals.
“We are discouraging communities from selling their parcels of land to speculators. From our discussion with Usahihi Expressway Limited, land owners along the road corridor will have a unique opportunity to invest in the road project for better returns,” said Makueni Roads and Transport Executive Peter Mumo.
Separately, Kibwezi West MP Mwengi Mutuse called on Usahihi Expressway Limited to ensure that the road does not kill the existing economic corridor alongside the Mombasa-Nairobi highway as Halinishi Yusuf, an environmental conservation champion, called for proper measures to ensure that the road project does not lead to environmental degradation.
“The proposed Mombasa-Nairobi expressway project will require at least 122,222 truckloads of sand. We must plan ahead so that we do not experience the same sand problems which we experienced during the construction of the Standard Gauge Railway project which led to the degradation of rivers and devastation of local communities,” Ms Yusuf said in a statement.
