The Kenyan Government is looking to restart its $3.6 billion highway project to boost transport between Nairobi and Mombasa. The new highway will cut journey times for the 443km distance between Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, and its main port and second city, Mombasa. The project will be run under the PPP model by the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA). The new highway is desperately needed as the existing route between the two cities cannot cope with the volume of traffic it has to handle, as well as having serious safety issues. The project forms part of a plan for 2,800km of new roads for Kenya intended to double the country’s network over the next seven years.
The need for the project has been known for some years but previous attempts to build the highway have failed. The US construction firm Bechtel was previously involved in the plan to build the highway but withdrew from the project following disagreements with KeNHA over the funding model for the work.
In addition, plans are in hand for the new overpass for the A2 Nairobi-Thika road corridor. The project will boost capacity and cut journey times between Nairobi and Thika, as well as Kenya’s central region and eastern and northern Kenya.
Other important road transport projects for Kenya include the Ngong Road Bridge and the Nairobi-Nakuru dual-carriageway. In addition, three new highways are being planned in Kenya for the country’s Rift Valley region. These new highways will stretch a total of more than 400km, boosting transport for Nandi, Bomet, Kericho, Elgeyo Marakwet, Uasin Gishu, and Narok counties.
And Kenya is also working on a series of transport upgrades that will improve connections with its neighbours in East Africa such as Uganda and Tanzania.
