Construction work on Kenya’s vital Mombasa-Nairobi highway upgrade project is now going ahead as planned. A resolution has been achieved that will solve the funding issues that had threatened to delay the project. The project will cost nearly US$3 billion in all and is crucial for the country’s economic development as it will provide a new four lane highway connecting Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, with its largest port at Mombasa. But there were concerns that the funding method based on a series of loans that was originally proposed would result in Kenya facing large debts. Instead the project is now being carried out under a full PPP model, with US contractor Bechtel operating the route and collecting tolls.
The highway is of importance not only for Kenya, but for East Africa as a whole. It forms part of a wider plan to improve transport across East Africa and will provide an important route to and from Mombasa for landlocked countries such as neighbouring Uganda.
