Members of the National Assembly's Transport Committee on Thursday, January 5, confirmed investigations into the Nairobi Expressway contracts.
The MPs are probing circumstances under which the cost of construction of the expressway shot from the initial Ksh23 billion during the grand coalition government to over Ksh70 billion, among other issues.
Transport Committee Chairman and current Molo legislator, Kimani Kuria revealed to Kenyans.co.ke, that the lawmakers invited officials from the Transport and Treasury ministries as well as the Chinese contractor to shed light on the matter.
The committee will also be inviting opinions and evidence from the public in order to corroborate concerns, some of which have been raised by motorists plying the Nairobi Expressway.
According to Kuria, motorists raised safety concerns with the National Assembly Finance and Planning committee, noting that the financing, construction and operation of road remains a mystery to many Kenyans.
“We have received concerns from motorists and other concerned Kenyans on why they are forced to pay cash when using the road while all government services are currently going cashless,” Kuria confirmed.
The Transport Committee wants to understand the financing model of the project that was undertaken by the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC).
“Details of the project also remain scanty and the public might have been misled about the financing model of the road. While we were told the project was financed through a public-private partnership (PPP), there is a perception that it was done through a loan,” Kuria revealed.
In April 2021, the current National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang'ula claimed that former President Uhuru Kenyatta's government inflated the cost of construction by a whopping Ksh40 billion.
While contributing on the floor of the Senate, Wetang'ula who served in former President Mwai Kibaki’s cabinet revealed that the Grand Coalition Government approved the construction of Nairobi Expressway at a cost of Ksh23 billion.
At the time of completion, the cost of Nairobi Expressway had astronomically increased to about Ksh100 billion, all cost factors included.
In December 2022, the operators of the super highway, Moja Expressway announced that mobile money will officially be available as a payment mode starting January 15, 2023.
Moja Expressway CEO Steve Zhao also revealed that some 50,000 vehicles use the super highway on a daily basis.
Kuria's led committee is seeking to determine if Treasury is getting part of the concession fee and whether the repayment period could be reduced.
