The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) is planning to digitise the way it handles environmental and social safeguards for road projects, with the upgrade to be funded through a World Bank loan.
The move is part of the Horn of Africa Gateway Development Project, which includes the ongoing construction and upgrading of the long-awaited Isiolo-Mandera highway.
KeNHA said on Tuesday, September 8, that it is looking for a company to review its current safeguards systems and come up with the requirements for a digital platform that will automate some of its work.
The authority said the new system will help move some of the work currently handled through existing processes into a digital setup.
KeNHA Director General Luka Kimeli said the project will be financed using funds from the World Bank loan secured for the wider highway project.
The consultancy will involve a review of the Safeguards Department, including how it is structured, how it operates and the systems it currently uses.
According to the tender documents, the company hired will also identify areas where KeNHA can automate its processes and develop the technical requirements for the new system.
“The services will entail a comprehensive institutional, operational, and systems review of the Safeguards Department and develop functional and technical requirements for automation and digitisation of safeguards operations,” KeNHA said.
The digital system is expected to make it easier for the authority to keep track of environmental and social issues arising from road construction projects.
This includes areas such as environmental assessments, compliance monitoring and engagement with communities and other stakeholders affected by road projects.
The firm selected for the job will be expected to have experience in environmental and social impact assessments, safeguards compliance and environmental and social management systems.
Experience in resettlement action plans, stakeholder engagement, ICT-based business automation and management information systems will also be required.
KeNHA said the consultancy will run for 22 weeks, with an estimated 24 person-months of work by key professional staff.
The digitisation plan comes as work continues on the Isiolo-Mandera highway, a major road project expected to improve transport links in northern Kenya.
The highway is being implemented in phases and is currently about 60 per cent complete, according to the authority.
The government has set aside Ksh100 billion for the project, covering land acquisition and the main construction works.
The wider Horn of Africa Gateway Development Project has also received financing from the World Bank, with documents indicating that about Ksh168 billion has so far been disbursed in different phases since the project began in 2020.
Once completed, the Isiolo-Mandera road is expected to improve movement of people and goods across northern Kenya while opening up areas that have for years faced poor road connectivity.
For KeNHA, the digital overhaul will also bring changes to how environmental and social concerns linked to such projects are recorded, followed up and monitored.