The Civil Engineering Contractor September 2018 | Page 12

INFRASTRUCTURE AFRICA
EAST AFRICA
KENYA
Kenya discussing financing of USD3bn freeway
Mombasa is the end of the road for Kenya’s first high-speed freeway.
10 - CEC September 2018
existing highway and rehabilitation of the current
lanes. Upgrades are expected to commence in 2018
and continue through 2023. When fully operational in
2024, the Nairobi–Mombasa highway will become the
country’s first high-speed expressway.
The planned Nairobi–Mombasa dual carriageway
is divided into three main sections. The first section
(174km) will start at Jomo Kenyatta International
Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi and end at Kibwezi town in
Makueni County. The second section (132km) will be
built between Kibwezi and Voi, while the third section
(160km) will be constructed between Voi and Mombasa.
The 473km-long Nairobi–Mombasa dual carriageway
will be reconstructed to bituminous standards. Under
the current plan, when fully operational in 2024, the
Nairobi–Mombasa highway will have a closed toll
system with 19 interchanges to be built along the route.
The existing highway has 29 bridges and several box and
concrete pipe culverts. It is also provided with grade-
separation intersections to avoid traffic congestion.
The construction of the Nairobi–Mombasa expressway
expansion project is estimated to cost KES230-billion
(USD2.18-billion), which will be partly funded by the
US Export Credit Agencies (ECAs). The US Export-
Import Bank also signed a letter of intent with Bechtel
in the same month to support the upgrade project.
Fiebig-4402-2
The Kenyan government is talking to American
construction company Bechtel as the two parties
seek a financial solution to a 473km highway project
linking Nairobi and Mombasa. The freeway project
has an estimated cost of USD3-billion. The freeway
would comprise four lanes, expandable to six lanes,
providing an uninterrupted connection Kenya’s two
most economically important cities with a maximum
speed of 120km/h.
Still under discussion is the financing model: the
Kenyan government wants Bechtel to source initial
funding for a public-private partnership model, which
would be repaid through toll fees. Bechtel is of the
opinion that this model would cost the Kenyan taxpayer
too much money over 25 years and that a government
loan would prove better value for money.
The two-lane Nairobi–Mombasa Highway is being
converted into a dual carriageway to address the
increasing traffic congestion between Kenya’s capital city
Nairobi and the country’s major port city, Mombasa. An
estimated 95% of cargo from the sea Port of Mombasa is
transported via the Nairobi–Mombasa motorway.
The highway expansion project was unveiled in
Sept