The Public-Private Partnership (PPP) committee has approved the first phase of the planned 473-kilometer Nairobi-Mombasa expressway, as disclosed by the National Treasury. The estimated cost of the project is $3.6 billion, which is equivalent to KES 555.09 billion.
The Treasury highlighted the mobilization of private sector resources to enhance crucial trunk networks, specifically mentioning the Mombasa-Nairobi Expressway. The expressway is designed to ease traffic congestion and slow speeds between Nairobi and Mombasa City.
The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) clarified that the tender for the construction of the road was yet to be awarded.
Korean Overseas Infrastructure and Development Corporation (KIND) and the American firm Bechtel Executive, in collaboration with US Capital Investment Company Everstrong Capital, are some of the companies that expressed interest in the project.
In 2018, the estimated cost of the Nairobi-Mombasa Expressway project was approximately Sh300 billion. An American firm,Bechtel, had been chosen by the government to run it, but project financing, toll fees, and land acquisition costs led to complications in the project’s development.
The Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) reported in 2021 that Bechtel declined Kenya’s proposal to construct the road and recover costs through toll fees since Bechtel preferred a model where the government pays for the road construction rather than relying on user fees. This meant that the government would be inclined to borrow billions of shillings, causing a surge in public debt.
