Nairobi Expressway

Kenya under President Uhuru Kenyatta has invested in the construction and rehabilitation of roads across the country in a bid to spur economic development.

President Uhuru Kenyatta has been keen on having infrastructure as one of his key legacy projects and in his second term, Kenya has been a construction site, quite literally, starting from the tarmacking of estate feeder roads to major developments like the Nairobi expressway and the Likoni Floating Bridge.

The country has borrowed a cumulative Sh7.7 trillion to date, most of it since the Jubilee government took power in 2013, to fund ambitious infrastructure projects.

Through the R2000 program, the government is building 4,120 kilometres of roads countrywide, of which an estimated 1,413 kilometres were completed by end of 2019. The R2000 programme is a strategy for road development that ensures maximum utilization of local resources where such resources are technically and economically feasible.

BMI Research shows that mega construction projects in Kenya will help boost the growth of the country’s construction industry by 8.7% from 2017 and remain steady up until 2026.

Below is a list of some of the major road development projects that have changed the face of Kenya

Nairobi Expressway – This is a 27km highway under construction, by China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) that is expected to reduce the drive from Waiyaki way to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport from 2 hours to 15 minutes.

CRBC is constructing the road on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis, with a concession period of 30 years and three years of construction. The over $560m project is the first major project in Kenya to be developed through a PPP model and will also be the first toll road in the country.

Lamu Port, South Sudan, Ethiopia Transport (Lapsset) Corridor Programme  – Touted as Kenya’s most ambitious infrastructure project, the Sh2 trillion Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport Corridor project is expected to boost economic activities and double the country’s GDP.

Its main components include Lamu Port, Lamu-Ethiopia-South Sudan highway, Lamu-Juba-Addis Ababa railway, oil refinery and a 2,240km pipeline linking oil fields in South Sudan to the refinery at Lamu Port.

It also includes the construction of three resort cities at Lamu, Isiolo and Lokichoggio, the construction of airports in the resort cities and the development of a 1,100MW power line and a 185km water supply line.

Kipevu Oil Terminal – The facility, whose construction is underway in Mombasa, is expected to enable bigger volumes of fuel products to move in and out of Kenya.

On completion, the New Kipevu Oil Terminal will have four berths capable of handling the importation and exportation of crude oil, heavy fuel oil, aviation fuel, petrol, and diesel.

Rironi-Nakuru-Mau Summit road – The Sh180 billion Construction of a toll highway from Nairobi to Mau Summit, which involves the expansion of the 180-kilometer road into a four-lane dual carriageway from Rironi in Limuru to Mau Summit in Nakuru County.

This is another infrastructure project that is set to change the face of the country by reducing traffic along the Rironi-Nakuru-Mau Summit Road.

JKIA-Rironi Highway – The Construction of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA)-Rironi highway is currently underway at a cost of Sh59 billion.

The project will be completed in three stages starting with phase one (6.5km), which runs from JKIA to Likoni Road and the Southern bypass interchange.

Kenol-Isiolo Road – The 219km highway is set to be developed in two phases: Kenol-Marua (84km) and then Marua-Isiolo (135km). The whole project is anticipated for completion by December 2023.