Motorists to part with Sh7,000 to use Nairobi-Nakuru highway

Motorists plying the Nairobi-Nakuru-Mau Summit road will have to fork out Ksh7,290 to use the highway in toll charges.

According to a Business Daily report, trucks will be charged Ksh30 per kilometre while small private vehicles will be charged Ksh6 per kilometre which means that the motorists could pay between Ksh1,458 and Ksh7,290 depending on the distance covered.

The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) has already approved the new toll charges which effectively puts Kenya as the country that charges its citizens the highest toll charges in Africa.

The Nairobi- Nakuru-Mau Summit road is part of the Northern Corridor and among the anchor roads in the country with significant value to local businessmen, cargo transporters as well as importers and exporters with business interests in the country.

“The project will significantly reduce the travel time between Nairobi and Mau Summit with the perennial traffic jam experienced in Nakuru town and around Gilgil being a thing of the past. The section of the road through Nakuru town will be elevated thus ensuring free flow of through traffic’ Business Daily quoted KeNHA Director General Peter Mundinia.

The highway will encompass expanding the 175km road from Rironi to Mau Summit into a four-lane dual carriageway highway, re-carpeting of Rironi-Mai Mahiu -Naivasha Road and Operation and Maintenance of the recently constructed Nairobi Southern Bypass.

It will also include the Gitaru- Rironi section, whose reconstruction has just commenced under James Gichuru-Rironi Road Project.

{Read: Who will finance Sh300 billion Nairobi-Mombasa Superhighway?}

The financing framework of the road will be the Private Public Partnership (PPP) while the operator will be expected to operate the road for 30 years to recover their investment.

“It is quite gratifying to note the strong interest we have witnessed right on the onset of this project, we are sure the evaluation will yield strong candidates to tender for the project,” said George Kiiru, the Project Pre-Qualification Committee Chairman.

{See also: Nairobi motorists bracing for disruption as Outering Road set to be closed}

Once complete, the road will reduce the cost of transport and time of travel which will then give rise to huge trade opportunities along the corridor.