Nairobi Expressway Contractor Wins Sh9 Billion Tender to Rehabilitate Old Road

China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) which built the Nairobi Expressway has been awarded a Sh9 billion tender to rehabilitate the lower section of the 27-kilometer elevated highway.

The Chinese contractor just completed the construction of the Nairobi Expressway, which opened to the public on a trial basis on Saturday ahead of its official commissioning by President Kenyatta later this month.

Speaking during the opening of the expressway for trials, Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia said the upgrade of the lower section of the double-decker road will include recarpeting, erecting a Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) lane to help ease traffic congestion, fixing the drainage system, and putting up pedestrian walkways and modern lighting system.

“We are going to enhance the old road, all the way from Mlolongo to Westlands, to make sure that motorists who do not use the expressway also have a more beautified enhanced road,” said Macharia.

“We are finalizing a contract of Sh9 billion to make sure we beautify the old road. It makes sense to have the contractor who was doing the expressway rehabilitate the old road.”

Macharia said t least 11,000 vehicles have already been registered on the eight-lane elevated dual carriageway, out of which about 7,000 have registered to use the electronic toll collection.

Moja Expressway, a subsidiary of the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), will operate the expressway for 27 years to recoup its investment through toll fees.

The expressway, the first major project in the country to be carried out through a Public-Private Partnership [PPP] model, begins from Mlolongo through Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and Nairobi CBD to Westlands along Waiyaki Way. 

It features 11 interchanges at Mlolongo, Standard Gauge Railway, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Eastern Bypass, Southern Bypass, Capital Centre, Haile Selassie Avenue, Museum Hill, Westlands, and James Gichuru Rd.

Motorists intending to use the road are required to pay in cash or use Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) and Manual Toll Collection (MTC) cards.