Construction of Kenya’s new Western Highway Project is expected to cost $541 million. The highway project is being planned by the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA).
The 180km alignment will pass through Busia County, Siaya County, Kisumu County, Homa Bay County, and Migori County. The route will link Busia on Kenya’s border with Uganda to Muhuru Bay, which is located on the shore of Lake Victoria and close to Kenya’s border with Tanzania. The highway will also pass around Kisumu and Kisumu International Airport. The sections around the Homa Hills and Gwassi Hills may pose some technical challenges. The biggest technical challenges may well come from the section traversing the Yala Swamp.
The new Western Highway will boost economic development for the west of the country, which has poor road connections at present. The local fishing industry as well as tourism will benefit from the new highway. It will provide an important international transport link for Kenya, improving links with neighbouring Uganda and Tanzania and the wider East African region. For landlocked Uganda in particular, the highway will help improve international transport.
Meanwhile, KeNHA has cancelled the tender process for the project to improve the B32 rooute linking Pangani, Muthaiga, Kiambu and Ndumberi. This tender had been restricted to Chinese firms, with financing from China’s Exim Bank. The work was intended to reduce congestion between Nairobi’s northern outskirts and Kiambu County.
