American firm Everstrong Capital has lost a legal fight to save a Sh468 billion contract for the Mombasa Expressway. This is after the Public Private Partnership Petition Committee ruled to uphold a decision by the National Treasury’s Public Private Partnership Committee to abandon the firm’s proposal for the construction of the toll expressway.
In its ruling, the tribunal determined that Everstrong had failed to meet thresholds that had been set by the PPP committee on financing capacity, viability of the project, and the technical feasibility of the project.
Filings that were presented to the tribunal show that Everstrong’s proposal hit turbulence after the exit of Mota-Engil, a construction company that has links with Chinese State firms.
In August 2025, it had emerged that lenders from the United States who were being tapped by Everstrong Capital as financiers of the Sh468 billion Nairobi-Mombasa expressway project were uncomfortable with the involvement of Mota-Engil. This was one of the main reasons why the proposed multi-billion project fell into a storm.
Mota-Engil had exited from the proposed project at the last minute, raising concerns at the National Treasury. “When [Everstrong Capital / Usahihi Expressway Limited] went to the development phase, they came back with other contractors to meet the technical capacity but the shareholder to replace Mota was not there,” the PPP Directorate-General Kefa Seda had told local media.
Mota-Engil is owned 40 percent by the Mota family and 32.41 percent by China Communications Construction Company (CCCC). This Chinese company is the behind the China Road and Bridge Corporation which constructed Kenya’s standard gauge railway.
Reportedly, the exit of Portugal’s Mota-Engil was an act of Everstrong complying with the demands of their American lenders. According to reports, some of the prominent financiers that had been tapped for project included the USBC and the US Exim Bank.
A spot check on the Portuguese company shows that the multinational construction firm has footprint in major projects spanning from railways, airports, and motorways.
For instance, the company is currently undertaking the The Cuapiaxtla-Cuacnopalan highway is a concessioned road that strategically connects the center of the country with the southeast, facilitating transit between Puebla and Oaxaca in South-Central Mexico.
The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) signed an agreement with Everstrong for the construction of the expressway during President William Ruto’s visit to the United States in May 2024.
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The Nairobi-Mombasa Expressway project was terminated by the government in August last year after a meeting by the public-private-partnership (PPP) committee of the National Treasury.
“The PPP Committee determined that the proposal does not meet the relevant criteria and should be abandoned in accordance with Section 43 (11)(c) of the PPP Act, 2021,” a notice by the National Treasury had stated. After the cancellation, the committee directed the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) to expand the existing highway.
Mombasa expressway – signs of trouble
The first signs of trouble for the Usahihi Expressway project emerged in early July when it was revealed that the committee had rejected the Nairobi-Mombasa Expressway plan.
According to the committee, the project development report (PDR) was presented as a greenfield project. However, the PDR allegedly had gaps on land use and land acquisition for the project. A PDR contains a comprehensive overview of the project, and details the project’s development including its goals, scope, and potential risks.
“The proposal may, however, be resubmitted to the committee for fresh determination in line with Section 43 (12) of the PPP Act, 2021,” the committee had stated.
Everstrong Capital submitted the project’s feasibility study in May 2025. “In a landmark moment for Kenya and African infrastructure at large, Everstrong Capital has officially submitted the full feasibility study for the Usahihi Expressway to the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA),” the company had announced.
Everstrong had been looking to raise up to Sh129 billion from the local market, including from local banks and local pension funds. The developer would then raise Sh258 billion from external markets to bring the total estimated construction cost to Sh465.12 billion. Once complete, the Expressway would have operated on a toll-basis.
Were the c to be implemented and completed, the American-owned firm and their partners would charge toll fees for a period of 30 years, by which time they would be expected to recover their investment plus profit.
According to Usahihi Chairman Kyle McCarter who is also the former US ambassador to Kenya, motorists would have paid between Sh12 and Sh13 per kilometre to use the expressway. This implied that for a full journey from Nairobi to Mombasa on the 440 kilometre expressway, motorists would have between Sh5,280 and Sh5,720.
The cost of usage was expected to vary depending on vehicle size and weight, with trucks expected to pay more. In early 2025, it had emerged that heavy commercial vehicles would be compelled to strictly use the expressway, which would in turn see these vehicles contribute up to 75 percent in toll revenue.
The construction works on the road were expected to take four years to complete starting from 2026.
