A month after the Kenyan government received funding for the construction of the multinational Kenya-South Sudan road corridor, the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) is now inviting eligible consulting firms to offer an environmental and socio-economic impact assessment of the project.
In a notice published on Tuesday, April 8, the Authority urged viable consulting firms to indicate their interest in providing consultancy services, including conducting surveys of existing economic, social, climate change, and environmental health and safety conditions in the project area.
The consulting companies would also be required to monitor the effects of the construction works and develop a monitoring and evaluation framework, along with the post-infrastructure impact report at a regional level.
According to KeNHA, the assessment would be conducted within 4 years, with three years allocated for the construction of the highway and one year designated as a defects notification period.
“The Kenyan government has received financing from AfDB towards the cost of the Multinational Kenya - South Sudan Road Corridor upgrading Project Phase 1 and intends to apply part of the agreed amount for this loan to payments under the contract for the consultancy services,” KeNHA announced.
“The consultancy services will include monitoring and evaluation of environmental and social management plans, conducting baseline surveys of existing economic, social, climate change, environmental health and safety conditions in the project area, and continually monitoring the effects of the construction works on the above indicators,” the Authority added.
While making the announcement, KeNHA noted that the consulting company must be registered in the fields of environmental science, natural resource management, and social sciences for a period of not less than 8 years.
Additionally, the firm must demonstrate competence and experience in terms of successfully delivering similar assignments including undertaking baseline social and economic impact studies and undertaking climate change studies and research.
As per KeNHA’s notice, the company’s experience in similar assignments within Sub-Saharan Africa would be an added advantage for companies seeking to offer the services.
The announcement follows a month after KeNHA received Ksh28.8 billion from the AfDB and African Development Fund (AfDF) for the upgrade of the major highway at the Lesseru-Kitale and Morpus-Lokichar road sections.
KeNHA, in a notice dated February 28, stated that the road project was aimed at improving transport connectivity between Kenya and South Sudan, thereby deepening regional integration and trade.
Details of the multibillion-shilling road project first came to light in August 2023 when stakeholders, including the African Development Bank, KeNHA, the Kenya Meteorological Department, and the Kenya Forest Service (KFS), met to discuss its implementation.
