A recently proposed project to build a multi-billion-shilling, 466-kilometre, six-lane Mombasa-Nairobi expressway, with its whopping Ksh300 billion price tag, might become one of Kenya’s most expensive road.
An estimated 95% of cargo from the sea Port of Mombasa is transported via the Nairobi-Mombasa motorway.
Kenya has since the 20th century been notorious for the poor quality of its roads, so much so that there is a malicious saying asserting that the country has two major problems: fools and roads.
But thankfully there has been immense progress in this respect, too, and with Kenya’s newly adopted grand national plan on development of the countries road network the picture might within a few years change altogether.
The agreement was arrived at when President Uhuru Kenyatta was in White House for a tête-à-tête with President Trump and both Washington and Nairobi said President Trump and President Kenyatta explored ways to bolster trade and investment.
Projected to cost $3.8 billion (Sh380 billion), the Mombasa-Nairobi expressway will push Kenya’s public debt to new heights — Nairobi is already sinking in debt, which crossed the Sh5 trillion mark for the first time in June 2018, from a low of Sh500 billion in 1999.
Design maps of the high-speed road have revealed that the proposed Mombasa-Nairobi Expressway will bypass the capital city to branch off just past Konza and terminate onto the Nakuru highway in Kikuyu.
The expressway, to be built by American conglomerate Bechtel, is set to start any time after June according to project documents.
It will turn off before reaching Athi River, cut through Ongata Rongai and Ngong to join the Nairobi-Nakuru highway in Kikuyu town
The project, part of President Uhuru’s plan to boost the economy by increasing government spending in infrastructure, is only part of the planned investment in Russian roads.
The fact is that since Uhuru took over, the investment in Kenya’s road network has really picked up, and the trend is accelerating.
The planned Nairobi-Mombasa dual carriageway is divided into three main sections. The first section (174km) will start at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi and end at Kibwezi town in Makueni County.
The second section (132km) will be built between Kibwezi and Voi, while the third section (160km) will be constructed between Voi and Mombasa.
The project is subdivided into ten sections including Mombasa-Mariakani, Mariakani-Maji ya Chumvi, Maji ya Chumvi-Bachuma Gate, Bachuma Gate-Mtito Andei, Mtito Andei-Sultan Hamud, Sultan Hamud-Machakos T/off, Machakos T/off-Athi River, and Athi River-JKIA.
The first of the ten sections will run from Namanga junction to Konza ICT City and is expected to be opened in October 2019
The 473km-long Nairobi-Mombasa dual carriageway will be reconstructed to bituminous standards. It will feature four lanes, which will be expandable to six lanes.
The high-speed expressway will have a closed toll system with 19 interchanges to be built along the route.
The existing highway has 29 bridges and several box and concrete pipe culverts. It is also provided with grade-separation intersections to avoid traffic congestion.
The controlled-access expressway will allow vehicles to safely travel at speeds up to 120km/h.