Kenya highway link upgrade planned

Plans are moving forward with regard to the upgrade work to the highway connecting Kenya’s capital Nairobi with the port of Mombasa.
June 19, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
RSS

Plans are moving forward with regard to the upgrade work to the highway connecting Kenya’s capital Nairobi with the port of Mombasa. In all the project will stretch for some 485km and cost around US$2.2 billion, with the work involving upgrading the route to a dual carriageway along its entire length. Funding is expected to come from international sources, including the US Exim Banks and the 1586 African Development Bank. The route will be tolled, with a 25 year pay-back period being anticipated. Construction work will start first on the 42km section between Mombasa and Mariakani. Several bridges will be built along the route.

The project is needed as the existing road has just one lane in either direction and suffers badly from congestion. The road carries a high percentage of heavy trucks travelling to and from the port of Mombasa and the route also has a poor reputation for safety due to a large number of dangerous overtakes. In April of this year alone there were two separate head-on collisions within the space of a few days, resulting in the loss of 27 lives in one crash and eight in the other.

The upgraded route will provide an important link through to Uganda as well as Rwanda and Burundi when it is complete. These landlocked countries will benefit economically from a dual carriageway connection to the port of Mombasa.

Road Structures Finance & Funding

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Rwanda road building planned
    June 9, 2017
    A US$89.7 million finance package from the World Bank will pay for the construction of a new highway in Rwanda. The project calls for the construction of a 66.5km highway, which forms part of a larger plan to build a 117km route from Ngoma to Nyanza.
    Read More
  • Key route upgrades for Scotland
    July 19, 2012
    Major road projects in Scotland will improve the country’s transport connections. Plans are now in hand to fast-track the project to convert the A9 to dual carriageway status along its entire length. The road is a major transport artery to the north of Scotland, connecting the Central Belt in the south with the northern city of Inverness, providing the main gateway to the north of the country. The plans call for the upgrading of the A9 to dual carriageway status between Perth and Inverness. Work on the 5km
    Read More
  • New Sudan link will boost economic development
    February 21, 2013
    South Sudan’s new showpiece road has reduced travelling times and improved access to markets and basic services. Shem Oirere reports Bituminous surface treatment is common for highways with low-traffic or for the rejuvenation of a weakening asphalt concrete pavement. But this is what the 192km Juba-Nimule Highway in the world’s youngest nation, South Sudan, needed in its reconstruction to bring it to international standards. Commissioning of the highway effectively erases the tag ‘landlocked’ from South Su
    Read More
  • Kenya highway projects starting
    March 11, 2019
    Construction work is starting on two important road projects in Kenya. These are for the Dongo Kundu Southern Bypass and for the Mau Highway. The Mau highway project is worth US$2 billion and forms part of the route that links Kenya’s key port at Mombasa through its capital Nairobi to the border with neighbouring Uganda. The 180km Nairobi-Nakuru-Mau section of the A104 route will feature two lanes in either direction. The deal is being handled under a package that includes design, financing, maintenance a
    Read More

Highlighted Content