Skip to main content

East Africa’s massive new ring road project

Plans are being drawn up for a major new highway project in East Africa. Preparations are being made by the authorities in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. The 450km ring road route runs around the shoreline of Lake Victoria and will provide better transport connections for Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, as well as for other near neighbours, particularly Rwanda and Burundi. New border posts will be required, to help increase the flow of traffic between the nations. Although it will be complex, the project will boos
June 30, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
RSSPlans are being drawn up for a major new highway project in East Africa. Preparations are being made by the authorities in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. The 450km ring road route runs around the shoreline of Lake Victoria and will provide better transport connections for Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, as well as for other near neighbours, particularly Rwanda and Burundi. New border posts will be required, to help increase the flow of traffic between the nations. Although it will be complex, the project will boost transport connectivity around the lake area and develop trade and commerce between the three nations, as well as Rwanda and Burundi. It is expected to cost in the region of US$410 million to construct, but the economic benefits of the road to these five nations will vastly outweigh the building costs.

Feasibility studies are now being carried out with a view to providing the basis for a more detailed route, as well as assessing any potential environmental issues. Once the feasibility studies are complete design work can commence. Much of the funding for the project is expected to be sourced from the World Bank.

Kenya’s portion of the route would most likely run from Bumula in Busia County to Muhuru Bay in Migori County, according to the local authorities in Kenya’s Homa-Bay. The routes for the sections running through Uganda and Tanzania have yet to be revealed.

Related Content

  • Bidding for Uganda road connecting Kampala and Jinja
    May 22, 2018
    In Uganda bidding is now underway for the new expressway project to improve transport between capital Kampala and the industrial city of Jinja. The project for the 95km section of road is expected to cost US$1 billion to construct. The contract is being offered under the design, finance, build and operate model, with the route then being handed back to the Ugandan Government once the agreed concession period is complete. Some of the financing will be provided by the Africa Development Bank (AfDB), French De
  • Kenya’s new road connection for port
    December 1, 2017
    Kenya is on track to build a new highway connection from the port of Lamu to Isiolo. The project is for a 530km highway and will cost US$620 million, with the route running through Garissa. The final route has yet to be identified but it seems likely that the highway will skirt a number of the country’s protected areas that are subject to tight environmental requirements and on which Kenya relies for much of its tourist trade. The project will be carried out by the Lamu Road Consortium (LRC), which comprise
  • Serbia road funding being delivered
    January 3, 2017
    A loan of €178 million will pay for the Surcin-Obrenovac highway project in Serbia. The loan for the work is being provided by China’s Export-Import Bank. The financing deal has been agreed between the Serbian Government and the Chinese bank. When Chinese sources deliver funding for road projects, a usual stipulation of the agreement is that the main contracting work should be carried out by a Chinese firm. However, the names of the company or companies that will be involved in the road construction have ye
  • Kuwait fund KFAED to contribute to greater Tunis X20 ring road
    March 18, 2015
    The Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) is to contribute US$28.5 million towards the X20 ring road of greater Tunis, according to a report in L'Economiste Maghrébin. An agreement was signed on 17 March between Yassine Brahim, the Tunisian minister for development, investment and international cooperation, and Ahmed Al Badr, the managing director of KFAED. World Highways reported in June 2013 that the government was moving ahead with plans for the 80km ring road expected to cost around $365 mil