Kenya’s most expensive road project put on hold

January 11, 2023

The construction of the Sh160 billion Mau Summit highway on ice, Kenya’s most expensive road project has been put on hold, sending contractors and funders into a spin.

The construction of the Sh160 billion Mau Summit highway on ice, Kenya’s most expensive road project has been put on hold, sending contractors and funders into a spin. The proposed Mau Summit road, a four-lane dual carriageway through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, was conceptualized as the main artery from Nairobi to western Kenya and the neighbouring countries of Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The construction of the 233-kilometre Nairobi-Nakuru-Mau Summit Toll Road project was initiated by former President Uhuru Kenyatta. The project received financial backing from African Development Bank (AfDB) and the World Bank. AfDB approved financing of $150 million (Sh18.5 billion) to support the project, which will transform the existing 175-kilometer A8 road from Rironi to Mau Summit into a four-lane carriageway and the 57.8km two-lane A8 South, from Rironi to Naivasha. The World Bank Group, through two of its subsidiaries, was to be a major financier of the Nairobi-Nakuru-Mau toll road together with various other PPP projects totaling $2.5 billion (Sh308.5 billion) for the period between 2023 and 2027.

The consortium of three French firms consisting of Vinci Highways SAS, Meridian Infrastructure Africa Fund, and Vinci Concessions SAS was waiting for the approval of President Ruto to launch the project. The investment was to be recouped in 30 years by charging toll fees for the use of the road. According to sources, the new administration was not happy with the idea of tolling the road. The absence of an alternative route for motorists who did not want to pay toll fees had become a contentious issue. The supporters of the toll road argued that the expansion would dramatically improve the country’s economic fortunes. One of the losing bidders also filed a petition against the approval process.