The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) has announced the receipt of a third privately initiated proposal for the upgrade of the Nairobi-Nakuru highway.
KeNHA, in a notice published on Tuesday, July 8, revealed that it received a proposal from Multiplex Partners Company for the construction of the 175-kilometre four-lane stretch from Rironi to Mau Summit.
This is in addition to two initial proposals from the China Road and Bridge Corporation and the Shandong Hi-Speed Road and Bridge International company to expand the busy road.
While KeNHA has already approved proposals from the two aforementioned firms, the Authority has yet to authenticate the proposal from Multiplex Partners Company.
According to KeNHA, proposals from China Road and Bridge Corporation and the Shandong Hi-Speed Road and Bridge International Company were approved on July 22 by the relevant authorities, granting them a head start in the construction of the road.
Meanwhile, Multiplex Partners' proposal is currently under evaluation to establish whether the company has fully complied with the Public-Private Proposal (PPP) Act of 2021.
"The additional Privately Initiated Proposal will therefore be subjected to the PPP procurement process, which entails: mandatory due diligence on the proponent and evaluation of the proposal," KeNHA announced.
"Having undertaken the above processes, KeNHA, the PPP Directorate – National Treasury, and the PPP Committee will render their various decisions per the PPP Act, 2021," the Authority added.
The latest update comes hardly three months after President William Ruto's cabinet approved the construction of the highway in a move aimed at easing traffic congestion along the ever-busy stretch.
The road is a critical segment of the Northern Corridor, which connects Nairobi to the Western region and neighbouring countries such as Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Structured under the PPP Act, the construction of the highway is expected to commence in August this year, with the project expected to be implemented within 24 months.
Despite initial promises by the government to expand the road, the project faced several challenges, including delayed project implementation by contractors.
In April this year, KeNHA was forced to cancel a Ksh190 billion agreement with a French firm that had been hired to expand the road. The decision to end the contract followed the government’s decision to revisit the contract after concerns from KeNHA officials.
