Skip to main content

Kenya plans road toll tenders

Kenya plans to start tendering in May for toll-road contracts estimated by the government to be worth $2 billion to improve the efficiency of the East African nation’s biggest commercial routes, according to Bloomberg. The contracts will be in addition to the 45 deals worth about US$3.2 billion that the government will start awarding as early as next week, to double the nation’s paved-road network through an annuity program. The government is planning to introduce five toll projects covering about 800 kilom
March 25, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
RSSKenya plans to start tendering in May for toll-road contracts estimated by the government to be worth $2 billion to improve the efficiency of the East African nation’s biggest commercial routes, according to Bloomberg.

The contracts will be in addition to the 45 deals worth about US$3.2 billion that the government will start awarding as early as next week, to double the nation’s paved-road network through an annuity program.

The government is planning to introduce five toll projects covering about 800 kilometres (500 miles), including a new 482-kilometre dual-carriage highway between the port city of Mombasa and the capital, Nairobi, Stanley Kamau, director of the Public Private Partnership Unit at the Treasury, said in an interview this week.

Kenya is retaining 5019 PricewaterhouseCoopers to advise on the development and maintenance of the Nairobi-Mombasa highway, while it hired Intercontinental Consultants and Technocrats of India for the same scope of work for a new 176-kilometre highway connecting the capital to the south-western city of Nakuru. Intercontinental consultants will also advise on the operation and maintenance of the 80-kilometer Nairobi-Thika road, according to the Treasury.

The Treasury is drawing from a US$40-million World Bank loan to carry out feasibility studies for the projects and partly finance land acquisition.

Kenya is seeking funds from private sources to support its plans expand transport infrastructure and create a regional transportation hub that will help it accelerate economic growth to 10 percent by 2017 from 5.4 percent last year.

“With the private sector, we can do what government aspires for in infrastructure development faster, than when relying on public funds alone,” Kamau said. “We should have toll guidelines by April, then start the tendering process.”

John Musonik, infrastructure principal secretary at the Transport Ministry said winners of the first contracts under the road annuity program could be announced next week. The government is setting up a Road Annuity Fund to expedite construction of roads in a country where less than 10 per cent of the 161,000-kilometer network is paved, according to the Kenya Roads Board.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Gulf Traffic 2013 – the international meeting place for buyers and sellers
    July 23, 2013
    The Gulf region is forging ahead with plans to improve its transportation infrastructure with US$121.3 billion worth of road and bridge projects already underway or in the planning phase.
  • Colombian government releases funds for road concessions
    September 25, 2013
    The Colombian government is to release funds of US$12.27 billion from the national budget for the Autopistas de la Prosperidad road programme, involving nine road concessions. Concession holders will invest US$7.4 billion into these projects; since monies from tolls will be insufficient to complete all works, the government will inject further funds of US$23.2 billion over the next decade. Ministers have stressed the importance of this road infrastructure and the need to speed up the process. This news
  • Rhode Island RhodeWorks plan opposed by ATA
    May 29, 2015
    Rhode Island government (RIDOT) has introduced its RhodeWorks plan, designed to address the state's crumbling transportation infrastructure. Rhode Island ranks 50th out of 50 states in overall bridge condition and has lost 1,200 in the construction sector over the past three months. RhodeWorks is focused on solving these two problems at once.
  • Obama administration begins work on 30-year transportation plan
    January 14, 2015
    The Obama administration has begun to map out a 30-year framework to meet US infrastructure needs, according to Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, speaking in an interview with the Washington Post. Foxx promised a comprehensive review of the demand for new or replacement systems a year ago in an address to the Transportation Research Board. He returned to the group this week to roll out conclusions expected in a report later this year. “Transportation is a system of systems,” Foxx said, rather tha