Completion Date for Sh65 Billion Nairobi Expressway Slashed by 6 Months to 2021

The completion date for the Sh65 billion Nairobi Expressway has been brought forward by six months.

Transport Cabinet Secretary James Maina said the contractor—China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC)—has committed to finish the project in a year’s time.

Speaking after a recent inspection tour, Macharia pointed out that the 27-kilometer expressway will be ready by December 2021.

Initially, the highway was scheduled to be completed in December 2022 before the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) moved the date to June 2022.

“We want to gift Kenyans this facility as soon as possible, so we discussed with them (contractor) to reduce the time. They first reduced to two and a half years, but now we have agreed with them to try and finish the main structures by December 2021,” said Macharia.

He added: “Most cities are making a lot of infrastructural investment to attract new investors and we do not want to be left behind. We are seeing this project as an integral part of not just our transport system but overall infrastructural development and that is why we are doing it in conjunction with what is happening at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and the railway system.”

The project is being implemented under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) framework where CRBC will operate the expressway for 27 years to recoup its investment by charging toll fees.

Motorists will be charged between Sh6 and Sh30 per kilometer depending on the size of the vehicle. The road is part of the government’s plan to reduce traffic congestion within Nairobi.