Transport CS James Macharia has responded to concerns that the government risks losing Ksh 65 billion to investors in the Nairobi Expressway project.
The concern arose after some Kenyans claimed that the government would pay the money if the investors failed to recover their capital by charging motorists to use the road.
In his response on April 12, CS Macharia clarified that the investors would bear the loss without any cost being incurred by the Government of Kenya if the expressway doesn't attract enough vehicle traffic.
“GOK is not guaranteeing anything. If there will be zero traffic on the Nairobi Expressway, the investor bears the full risk of Ksh 65 billion,” he said.
The CS also stated that despite how long it takes for the investor to recoup the money, the road would be transferred to the government at no cost.
Kenyans have also raised concerns about whether the government plans to make the use of the Nairobi Expressway mandatory for certain classes of vehicles.
Motorists attributed this to the government’s directive which forced certain cargo to be transported via the Standard Gauge Railway.
The Nairobi Expressway is being built by the China Road and Bridge Corporation which is also behind the SGR.
The road is being fast-tracked through the use of advanced machines. This is not the first time Kenyans are experiencing Chinese road technology.
Between 2009 and 2012, three Chinese firms namely China Wu Yi, Sinohydro and Shengli Engineering built the eight-lane Thika superhighway, which introduced Kenyans to the Asian nation's building technology.
While Chinese firms have built other roads in Kenya, including bypasses, the Nairobi Expressway is capturing the imagination of citizens just as much as the Thika superhighway did a decade ago as it takes shape.
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