President William Ruto is now actively looking for Chinese investors to construct the mega Sh. 184 billion Mau Summit highway.

The president and his government on Saturday reportedly presented a funding proposal to delegation of Chinese investors for the mega highway.

“We are ready to expedite discussions and conclude on details on the proposed projects for implementation,” President Ruto told the delegation.

This follows a fallout between the Ruto administration and financiers from France who had been tipped to construct the highway by the government of former president Uhuru Kenyatta.

The French consortium made up of Vinci Highways SAS, Meridian Infrastructure Africa Fund, and Vinci Concessions SAS was set to expand the main highway from Nairobi to western Kenya into a four-lane dual carriageway through a public-private partnership (PPP) model.

The current government put the project on hold over what it termed as high construction costs.

In February 2022, the World Bank through its financing arm International Finance Corporation has joined the battle to fund the construction of the Sh. 180 billion Nairobi – Mau Summit expressway.

Through the IFC, the World Bank became the latest entry to make an expression of interest in the project. Following this expression, the IFC had published the project’s environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) documents for public review before it commits to funding the road.

Weeks before this pitch, the African Development Bank (AfDB) had also expressed interest in funding the mega project.

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The Mau Summit highway, when complete, will be operated on a toll basis.

Initially, the highway was meant to be used ona toll-basis. Users of the Mau Summit highway were to pay Sh. 6 per kilometre. This would translate to Sh. 1,398 for the entire Rironi-Nakuru-Mau Summit highway.

Under this arrangement, the French consortium operating as Rift Valley Highway Limited was expected to recover its investment and profits in around 30 years.