Posted on :Tuesday , 2nd January 2024

Under a public-private partnership (PPP), the 473-kilometer Nairobi-Mombasa Expressway has been approved for its initial phase of construction. This was disclosed by the Treasury, which made it possible for the road construction project to go into the development stage.

The Nairobi-Mombasa Expressway project, according to the Treasury, is anticipated to eliminate the severe traffic jams and lethargic speeds between Mombasa and Nairobi. It is anticipated that the road project will cost roughly $3.6 billion, or Ksh555.09 billion.

Korean Overseas Infrastructure and Development Corporation (KIND) and Bechtel Executive, which collaborates with US Capital Investment Company Everstrong Capital, expressed interest in the multibillion-shilling Nairobi-Mombasa Expressway project. The project's overall estimated cost in 2018 was approximately Ksh300 billion. It has been determined that a public-private partnership is an effective way to financing the project.

As per a 2021 report published by the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO), Bechtel declined Kenya's proposal, which called for the construction of a road and the subsequent recovery of construction expenses through the imposition of tolls on drivers. Rather than trying to recover their money by charging road users, Bechtel decided on a scheme where the state of Kenya pays for the construction costs. The contractor said that if the government chose the EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) model over the suggested toll model, Kenya would receive better value for its money.