The Kenya Urban Roads Authority has obtained a Ksh 3.2 billion concessional loan for the construction and design of the Ngong Road-Naivasha Road interchange.
The Spanish firm Centunion and the roads authority announced their partnership in a statement.
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According to the statement, KURA recently signed a Ksh3.2 billion concessional loan with Centunion of Spain. The loan is expected to cater for both the design and construction of the Ngong Road-Naivasha Road interchange. It is said that CS-Transport, Hon. Kipchumba Murkomen, and PS-Roads, Eng. Joseph Mbugua, both witnessed the signing.
Concessional loans are those that are provided on conditions that are considerably more lenient than market loans.
Grace periods, interest rates that are lower than those on the market, or a combination of these might be used to achieve concessionality. Typically, grace periods for concessional loans are long.
The Ngong Road-Naivasha Road interchange project’s contractor
The design, manufacturing, and supply of steel structures are carried out by Centunion.
Centunion is a Spanish general contractor company specializing in the construction of steel bridges and viaducts. It uses the most cutting-edge technologies and procedures.
The company was contracted by the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) in December 2020 to build a four lane flyover on Langata Road. The contract also involved construction of many footbridges at a cost of €23,250,000. This would eventually do away with traffic along the key road.
Initial plans were for the Ngong-Naivasha Road Interchange project to be completed in 2019. However, the contractor faced difficulties moving water and electricity cables. Also, the contractor had to deal with furniture traders who had occupied the road, delaying the project.
In addition, Eng. Joseph Mbugua, principal secretary, announced in December 2022 that the 4.2-kilometer Langata Road-Ngong Road link highway had been given priority in the country’s review of road designs.
This came after Kipchumba Murkomen, stated on October 20, 2022, that the nonpayment of contractors had resulted in a delay in the construction of many roads.
To guarantee a one-off infrastructure bond that would be used to pay off all contractors, he suggested the introduction of a road maintenance tax.
The ministry also inherited Ksh 140 billion in unpaid bills, he added.
Similarly, starting in January 2023, President William Ruto promised to finish all stalled road projects.
Ruto explained that the cause for the delay was a debt, which he estimated to be around Ksh900 billion.
