The National Assembly has demanded a special audit of a Sh8.3 billion road project at the Port of Mombasa, with MPs questioning how Kenya Ports Authority arrived at the cost of the 1.8-kilometre project and how the construction was procured.
The National Assembly Departmental Committee on Transport and Infrastructure put KPA officials on the spot on Tuesday, demanding tender documents, details of the materials being used and the legal basis for committing the authority’s internal revenue to the project.
The committee, led by its Chairperson George Kariuki, raised the questions during an inspection tour of KPA headquarters and port facilities in Mombasa County.
Ndia MP George Kariuki.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
Appearing on behalf of the KPA Managing Director, chief engineer Dr Fredrick Oyugi who is in charge of the port expansion project, was asked to explain how the authority arrived at the Sh8.3 billion cost.
Mr Kariuki who is also Ndia MP demanded details of the procurement process, including the advertisement for the tender, the number of contractors who expressed interest and the company that was eventually awarded the contract.
"This question has been in the media. Yes, you handle heavy cargo, but the figure is suspicious. We want to know what special materials are being used on this road; we want to see the advertisement, how many contractors showed interest and who was awarded the contract," said the Committee chairman, adding that MPs would seek a special audit to establish how the project was costed and procured.
"We have seen wastage of public resources in this country, and that is part of the reason we are here. You are spending Sh8 billion on a 1.8-kilometre road while our youth are suffering out there it is unacceptable. As a committee, we will be asking for a special audit of this road to establish the facts," he added.
Ruaraka MP Tom Kajwang also questioned the legal authority under which KPA committed its internal revenue to the project.
"From which legal authority did you get the mandate to spend internal revenue without engaging the National Treasury and the National Assembly? You are just administrators here. We want you to contextualise this decision within the Constitution," he said.
The questions put KPA officials under pressure to explain not only the cost of the project but also the process through which the authority approved and financed the works.
Dr Oyugi and his team agreed to prepare a comprehensive response to the issues raised and provide the documents requested by the committee.
However, KPA officials told the MPs that the project originated from the authority’s master plan and was among its priority infrastructure projects.
“We have had other priority areas despite receiving allocations since 2018. This road is part of our priorities; designs were done with the aim of averting accidents arising from port operations and human traffic. The road links Terminal One and Two from our gates,” they said.
The officials also told the committee that increased demand for the Port of Mombasa, arising from unforeseen global developments, had created the need for continued investment in infrastructure.
The authority said the investments were necessary to increase capacity, equipment and technology, as well as professional efficiency, to enable the port to accommodate projected cargo growth while maintaining service standards and competitiveness.
The committee is expected to hold another sitting with KPA to further examine the issues raised and seek additional information on the project.
A truck leaves the Kenya Ports Authority container terminal at the port of Mombasa on July 31, 2025.
Photo credit: Reuters
Previously, KPA explained that the works form part of wider infrastructure improvements at the port rather than a conventional road project.
KPA awarded the contract for "widening of Port Road from Gantry Workshop to Gate No 18/20" in August 2024, paving way for works that were scheduled to end this month.
The project's budget sets the cost of constructing a kilometre of the road at Sh5.96 billion, one of the most expensive in the country, with officials maintaining that it is not an ordinary road construction. Recent road constructions in Mombasa have cost less, including the Dongo Kundu bypass (about Sh1.8 billion/km), Kwa Jomvu - Mariakani Road (Sh342 million/km), while the ongoing Rironi - Mau Summit Road averages Sh807 million per kilometre.
"The envisaged benefit is that it shall provide an expressway from Kilindini side to the second terminal avoiding the crossing at Gate 18 Junction and also the level crossing at the western side of the one-stop centre parking," KPA says in its 2024/25 annual report.
A review of contract documents shows that about Sh1.6 billion of the road budget has been set aside for "contingencies and preliminary items", as experts raise concerns over possible loopholes for wastage of public money.
