Expansion of Nairobi-Nakuru road to start soon, CS says

The much-awaited expansion of Rironi-Nakuru-Mau Summit road will soon become a reality after the government entered into a public private partnership (PPP) with French Consortium of Companies to build the 233-kilometre highway at a cost of Sh160 billion.

The project will be funded by private investors and French companies led by Vinci Highways/Concessions, which will design, finance, build, operate, and maintain the road for 30 years and, thereafter, transfer it back to the government.

“The two-lane highway will be expanded into a four-lane dual carriageway and later into six lanes at its busy sections,” said Transport and Infrastructure Cabinet Secretary James Macharia.

“This 233-kilometre project also includes strengthening and widening of the existing Rironi-Mai Mahiu–Naivasha Road to become a 7-metre carriageway with 2-metre shoulders on both sides, construction of four kilometre viaduct (elevated highway) through Nakuru town, and construction and improvement of interchanges along the highway.”

Uhuru France tour

The signing ceremony was held in France last week and witnessed by President Uhuru Kenyatta and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron as part of his three-day official tour of the European nation.

The Rironi-Mai Mahiu–Naivasha Road serves the Naivasha Inland Container Depot and the proposed Industrial Park. It also serves traffic destined to Narok, south western Kenya and Northern Tanzania.

The road forms vital part of the most important transport corridor in Kenya, the Northern Corridor, which originates in Mombasa and terminates on the Malaba border. 

“The Northern Corridor continues to be an important artery for goods and people moving between the eastern and western parts of Kenya. Several of our landlocked neighbours also rely on the Northern Corridor to transport their sea-bound cargo,” the Cabinet Secretary added. 

“Indeed, Uganda, Rwanda, and South Sudan rely on this transport corridor to haul the overwhelming majority of their imports and exports.”

Congestion

The expansion of the road has been necessitated by congestion that has plagued it in recent years.

The road supports myriad of industries that have sprung up in the area since it was last upgraded.

The road currently carries an estimated 20,000 vehicles per day, a number that was expected to grow by four per cent annually.

“In designing and building this modern highway, the government will rationalise the use of scarce road space. The new highway will also improve traffic flow, reduce traffic accidents, and facilitate the proper management of heavy commercial vehicles,” he added

The expansion of the road is only one of several interventions that the government is undertaking to improve mobility on the Northern Corridor. The others include construction of the 600km standard gauge railway from Mombasa to Naivasha, expansion of the ports of Mombasa and Kisumu, construction of the Nairobi Expressway, and expansion of James Gichuru Junction–Rironi Road, Athi River–Machakos turnoff road, and Mombasa–Mariakani Road.

The parties to the commercial agreement are the Ministry of Transport, through the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA), and VINCI Consortium comprising of VINCI Highways SAS, Meridian Infrastructure Africa Fund (MIAF), and VINCI Concessions SAS.