Years of planning and anticipation finally cease for the long-awaited construction of the Rironi–Mau Summit Highway. The National Treasury has okayed the project proposal, paving the way for the construction of one of Kenya’s most ambitious recent road projects.
The license followed the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Committee’s approval and recommendation of a feasibility report submitted by China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) and the National Social Security Fund (NSSF).
The report, as per the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA), met all technical, financial, environmental, and social demands.
It was also deemed to be in the public interest and within the range of affordability for the government.
In a statement published on Thursday, October 23, KeNHA disclosed that PPP Committee reached their decision during a special sitting on October 9. “The Committee considered that the project meets the test of public interest, project viability and affordability,” the agency stated.
After approval, the CRBC, NSSF, and Shandong Hi-Speed Road and Bridge International joint venture will move to build the 175-kilometre highway.
The new four-lane road will start in Rironi in Kiambu County, pass through Nyandarua, and end at Mau Summit in Nakuru County. The project will cost an estimated KSh 200 billion.
Rironi–Mau Summit section is along A8 corridor from Nairobi to western Kenya and is a key section of the Northern Corridor, the main trading corridor for Uganda, South Sudan, and Democratic Republic of Congo.
The green light follows hot on the heels of public consultations conducted by the Ministry of Transport that just ended, where stakeholders and residents expressed their opinions regarding the project.
The exercise was conducted to ensure transparency and that the project is suitable for communities impacted by the project.
The building work will take about two years. Upon completion, the highway should cut travel time along the road from Nairobi to Nakuru to about an hour and a half a relief to drivers who have long had to endure at the mercy of congestions and snail-paced lorries on the clogged road.