Prominent businessman Peter Munga has partnered with the US capital firm that is behind the Sh468 billion Nairobi-Mombasa Expressway project. The latest move by the billionaire businessman has been seen as a strategic positioning for the multi-billion project that is expected to kick off some time in 2026.
According to a report that appeared in local business newspaper, the Business Daily, on Thursday, the US firm known as Everstrong Capital is now part of shareholders in Mr. Munga’s company which is known as Quickpass Limited.
According to the paper, Everstrong now holds a 50 percent stake in Quickpass. At the same time, the firm’s founder Philip William Dyk is one of the directors of Quickpass Limited, together with Munga’s son who is known as Alex Kieme Munga.
The other directors in the list include Munga’s daughter-in-law Emily Kairimu Kanina, John Paul Ouko, and Mandhla Sibanda who is a Zimbabwean national. Cornelius Kimamo Kigera has been listed as the company secretary.
Investors in the mega road project are expected to recoup their money from toll charges. According to Usahihi Chairman Kyle McCarter who is also the former US ambassador to Kenya, motorists will pay between Sh12 and Sh13 per kilometre to use the expressway. This implies that for a full journey from Nairobi to Mombasa on the 440 kilometre expressway, motorists will pay between Sh5,280 and Sh5,720.
“The toll charges will be in the neighbourhood of Sh12 to Sh13 per kilometre. As you know right now, the current expressway is Sh18; it started at Sh13 and now it is at Sh18. We are going to be below what the current expressway is charging,” said McCarter in a previous media interview.
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However, McCarter said that these estimates were not definite and could be subject to change. “We are optimizing that toll rate to lower the charge as much as we can by lowering the cost of construction and lowering the cost of capital. The more we save, the more that toll rate goes down.”
The cost of usage is expected to vary depending on vehicle size and weight, with trucks expected to pay more. In early 2025, it emerged that heavy commercial vehicles might be compelled to strictly use the expressway, which will in turn see these vehicles contribute up to 75 percent in toll revenue.
