The United States government has delayed funding for the proposed Sh300 billion Nairobi-Mombasa expressway.
The current two-lane Nairobi-Mombasa Highway is to be converted into a dual carriageway to address the increasing traffic congestion between Kenya’s capital city and the country’s major port city.
An estimated 95% of cargo from the sea Port of Mombasa is transported via the Nairobi-Mombasa motorway.
However, speaking during an interview with a local FM station, Ambassador Kyle McCarter said the US is scrutinizing the project to ascertain whether Kenyan taxpayers would get value for their money.
The envoy said the US is also concerned with Kenya’s ballooning public debt.
“US zero tolerance for corruption has forced us back to the drawing board and we will only embark on the project once we are satisfied it guarantees value for money for Kenyans and will not sink the country deeper into debt,” said McCarter.
He further said the US wants to establish whether the cost of the state-of-the-art infrastructure project was inflated.
“We did not want to sign onto a project whose cost would turn out to be three to four times higher than the actual.”
“We want to ensure there is an honest return on investment for Kenyans before we break ground,” McCarter stated.
The multi-billion-shilling contract for the construction of the 485-kilometer dual carriageway was awarded to an American engineering company, Bechtel.
“Bechtel did not lose the deal, we are still working on the finance. Kenya has a challenge of debt and we are wary of burdening Kenyans,” the envoy said.
The project was declared viable following a feasibility study carried out by an audit firm, PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in 2015.
The four-lane road will allow uninterrupted speeds of up to 120 km per hour, cutting travel time between Mombasa and Nairobi from 10 to four hours.
The road will run parallel to the current Nairobi-Mombasa highway and is expected to help promote trade and ease movement of people and goods in Kenya and neighboring countries.
Bechtel estimates that construction of the expressway will create 500 jobs and involve local businesses supplying up to 100,000 tonnes of cement and 40,000 tonnes of steel.
However, doubts in the US side could see the project delayed, or even suspended.