Why State put Sh180bn Mau Summit highway plan on hold

Kenya’s Kwanzaa administration halted construction of the Mau Summit Expressway because it was too expensive, with the country now pushing for a review of the Sh179.9 billion ($1.3 billion) project.

The new administration believes it has found the total cost to be too high given the current dynamics as Kenya is in a tight fiscal space.

The government is now negotiating with the contractors and financiers of the project, a move that will delay the start of implementation of the project, which has attracted financiers such as the World Bank and the African Development Fund.

We are still in negotiations. It is becoming a bit difficult for us to cope with the current dynamics, so we asked them to review the presentation to see if we can make it more affordable,” said Principal Secretary for Land Transport, Joseph Mbugoa.

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When asked what margin the government wanted to reduce the cost, Mr. Mbugoa did not give a figure.

“You see, affordability… If you are asked to bear something, it is about the total cost of the product versus what we can financially support,” he explained.

However, Mr. Mbugua was optimistic that the negotiations would be fruitful, as the government presented its proposal to both financiers and contractors for the project.

“We are also working with them. We will come to a consensus,” he said on the sidelines of the fourth Engineers Partnership Conference (EPC) in Nairobi.

Although contractors have not yet embarked on the 233-kilometre route, the government has set aside Sh816 million for the purchase of land along the planned highway in the four financial years to 2025/26.

Earlier, a source at the Kenya National Highways Authority (Kenha), which is the purchasing agency, told L.L.C The daily business That the contractor will use existing Kainha Road papers, which means no new land acquisition.

Kenya’s Kwanzaa administration has reportedly put the highway construction on ice, sending contractors and financiers of what is Kenya’s most expensive road project into a spin.

The construction of the Nairobi-Nakuru-Mao road that was supposed to start in September 2021 and which was initiated by retired President Uhuru Kenyatta, is pending the approval of President William Ruto.

A consortium of three French companies indicated its readiness to start work after obtaining financial support from the African Development Bank and the World Bank.

However, sources close to the project say the new administration has been cautious about road tolls, which they fear could roil President Ruto’s Rift Valley backyard economy.

Both contractors and financiers indicated that they were awaiting President Ruto’s word on when construction would begin.

President Ruto has since met his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, during a visit to France in January, and it is understood that the imminent construction of the road surfaced in the bilateral talks.

France has intensified its activities outside the Francophone countries and has set its sights on Kenya as an entry point to the East African region.

This is the largest French-related project in the country as the European economy scrambles to get a piece of Kenya’s infrastructure billions that have mostly gone to Chinese companies.

The French consortium, consisting of Vinci Highways SAS, Meridian Infrastructure Africa Fund and Vinci Concessions SAS, was expected to recoup its investment within 30 years by charging road tolls.

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The Mau Summit Road, which would have been widened into a four-lane dual carriageway through the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, is the main artery from Nairobi to western Kenya and the neighboring countries of Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Congo.

A major persistent problem has been the lack of an alternative route for motorists who do not wish to pay tolls, as is the case with the Nairobi Expressway.

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