The government has revived plans for the construction of the 482 kilometre Nairobi-Mombasa Expressway.
Construction of the Nairobi Mombasa Expressway was thrown into turmoil in 2021 after the US firm that bagged the contract refused to build the project on toll fees basis.
The government of Kenya had asked Bechtel to build the road using its own money then charge Kenyan motorists toll fees up until the money and profit is recovered.
However, Betchel rejected this proposal and asked the State to pay it upfront for the construction. This may force Kenya back to the borrowing market to fund the road.
“The contractor has indicated that the country will get better value for money if the road is constructed under an EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) model rather than a toll model,” a report by the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) said.
Bechtel argued that the alternative public-private partnerships (PPP) model where the contractor sources for funds would cost five times more at $15 billion (Sh. 1.5 trillion) and take much longer to complete.
The US company also had reservations about the costing of the road by Kenyan officials.
Now, the government of Kenya has changed tact and ditched the US company.
A task force has also already presented a pre-feasibility study report on the findings of the construction of the four-lane Nairobi- Mombasa Expressway.
The study was undertaken by the Korean Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Corporation Africa (KIND) in partnership with the Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure, Housing, Urban Development and Public Works and the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA).
US withholds funding for Sh. 300 billion Nairobi-Mombasa expressway
The proposed Nairobi Mombasa Expressway will cover 485-kilometres. It will be a dual-carriage motorway with four lanes to ease congestion and cut travel time between the two cities from the current 10 to about four hours.
It will run parallel to the current Nairobi-Mombasa highway and will help promote trade and movement in Kenya and the neighbouring countries of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, DRC and South Sudan.