Nairobi–Nakuru–Mau Summit Highway

The Nairobi–Nakuru–Mau Summit Highway is a road in Kenya, connecting the capital city of Nairobi, in Nairobi County, with the towns of Naivasha, Nakuru and Mau Summit, in Nakuru County.[1]

Route information
Length151 mi (243 km)
HistoryDesignated in 2019
Upgrading expected completion in 2025
Major junctions
Southeast endNairobi
 Naivasha
Nakuru
Northwest endMau Summit
Highway system
Roads in Kenya

Location

The road starts at the township of Rironi, in Kiambu County, about 40 kilometres (25 mi), northwest of the central business district of Nairobi.[2] The road runs in a general north-easterly direction, through Naivasha and Nakuru, in Nakuru County, to end at Mau Summit, approximately 181 kilometres (112 mi) away.[3]

The project also involves the resurfacing of the Rironi–Mai Mahiu–Naivasha Road, also referred to as the Escarpment Road. This road measures approximately 62 kilometres (39 mi), in length. This brings the total project mileage to about 151 miles (243 km).[4]

Overview

This road is part of the Northern Corridor, that is used in the transportation of goods and passengers from the port city of Mombasa and the capital city of Nairobi, to Kenya's western counties and the land-locked countries of Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi and the eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[4]

The Nairobi–Nakuru–Mau Summit Highway, has also been identified by the National Transportation and Safety Authority of Kenya (NTSA), to contain the two most accident-prone stretches of road in Kenya. These are (a) the highway between Nairobi and Nakuru and (b) the section of road Sobea–Salgaa–Mau Summit, on the road between Nakuru and Eldoret, known as the Salgaa stretch.[5][6]

Upgrading to dual carriageway

In order to alleviate the perpetual traffic jams and the slow travel times along this stretch of highway, the government of Kenya, through the Kenya National Highway Authority (KeNHA), decided in 2017 to expand the highway from two lanes to four lanes, with toll stations, under a public-private-partnership arrangement.[7]

Of the ten firms that expressed initial interest,[8] only two consortia submitted written bids. The two are (a) The consortium comprising Aiim, Egis, Mota-Engil and Orascom and (b) The Rift Valley Connect Consortium comprising Vinci Highways SAS, Meridian Infrastructure Africa Fund, and Vinci Concessions SAS.[9]

One of these consortia was awarded the contract to design, finance, build, operate, maintain the four-lane toll-highway for 30 years after commissioning, and then transfer it to the government of Kenya. The budgeted construction cost was KSh180 billion (US$1.8 billion).[1][9]

In October 2020, the government of Kenya, represented by Kenya's Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure, Housing, Urban Development & Public Works, through KeNHA, and The Rift Valley Connect Consortium comprising Vinci Highways SAS, Meridian Infrastructure Africa Fund, and Vinci Concessions SAS, signed a €1.3 billion (KES:163.8 million) contract to (a) upgrade the existing Nairobi–Mau Summit Road to a dual four-lane highway (b) upgrade and widen the Rironi–Mai Mahiu–Naivasha Road to become a seven-metre carriageway with 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) shoulders on both sides (c) construction of a 4 kilometres (2 mi) elevated highway through Nakuru town and (d) construct and improve the interchanges along this highway. The consortium will own, design, fund, construct, operate and maintain the toll-highway for 30 years after commercial commissioning, after which ownership will revert to the Kenyan government. Construction is expected to begin in the second half of 2021 and last at least 42 months.[10][11][12]

See also

References
  1. Ngugi, Brian (4 March 2019). "French firms to clinch Sh180bn Mau road job". Business Daily Africa. Nairobi. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  2. Globefeed.com (4 March 2019). "Distance between Nairobi, Kenya and Gulf Energy Rironi, Kenya". Globefeed.com. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  3. Globefeed.com (4 March 2019). "Distance between Gulf Energy Rironi, Kenya and Total Mau Summit, Kenya". Globefeed.com. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  4. Kenya Association of Manufacturers (2019). "Nairobi-Nakuru Highway Set For Expansion". Nairobi: Kenya Association of Manufacturers. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  5. Mwangi, Macharia (27 September 2018). "Alarm as agency records increase in fatal road crashes". Daily Nation. Nairobi. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  6. Eric Matara, and Peter Mburu (11 June 2018). "Construction of carriageway at Salgaa blackspot gets underway". Daily Nation. Nairobi. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  7. Mwende, Judy (3 April 2017). "Plan gathers speed for the Nairobi-Nakuru highway upgrade". Nairbi: Constructionkenya.com. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  8. Simon Ndonga (18 February 2017). "10 firms express interest to construct Nairobi-Nakuru-Mau Summit road". Nairobi: 98.4 Capital FM. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  9. Mwangi, Peter (4 March 2019). "Long wait for Sh180bn Nairobi-Mau Summit road tender award". Nairobi: Constructionkenya.com. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  10. Jackson Okoth (2 October 2020). "Kenya Signs Largest Public-Private Partnership Road Project in Africa". Nairobi: The Kenyan Wall Street. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  11. Rueil Malmaison (1 October 2020). "VINCI signs an agreement for the PPP contract for a motorway in Kenya". Los Angeles, California, United States: GlobeNewswire. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  12. Business Daily Africa (2 October 2020). "Building of Sh160bn Mau Summit road to start 2021". Business Daily Africa. Nairobi. Retrieved 3 October 2020.

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