The Usahihi Expressway is a high-profile, proposed 440-470 km toll highway designed to connect Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, with its main port city, Mombasa. Structured as a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) with US-based Everstrong Capital, the estimated $3.6 billion project aims to dramatically cut travel time between the two cities from over ten hours to roughly four to four and a half hours. The four-to-six-lane dual carriageway is intended to enhance regional trade, improve road safety, and create a new economic corridor, with features including wildlife overpasses and EV charging stations.
Despite being touted as a game-changer with no direct financial risk to the Kenyan government’s balance sheet, the project has faced significant delays, controversy over high toll fees, and internal debate, with Kenyan officials at one point signaling a shift toward simply upgrading the existing Mombasa highway.
Kenya has embarked on upgrading its road infrastructure lately. Ever since the development of the Thika Superhighway, the Kenya has not developed a major road project. However, this stalling is yet to come to an end following the plans by KeNHA to expand the Nairobi-Nakuru Highway and make it a dual-carriageway. This project is expected to cost approximately Ksh90 billion and had been awarded to a Chinese contractor.
Reported on June 19, 2024
According to Everstrong Capital, the company building the 400 kilometer New Usahihi Expressway, “motorists will now spend four fewer hours driving”. They also said drivers would save a bunch on gas money.
Right now this two-lane road takes like 10 hours from Nairobi to Mombasa. But the new fancy four-lane highway will cut that down to around four and a half hours, the company explained.
The groundbreaking deal was sealed between Kenya National Highways Authority (KENHA) and Everstrong Capital LLC during the state visit by President William Ruto to the United States. This deal greatly demonstrates the great bilateral ties between Kenya and the United States and validates the confidence in the economic growth prospects of Kenya. This large sum will primarily be provided by the American Development Finance Institutions, complemented by Kenyan private sector players and pension schemes, thus ensuring that the project has adequate funding.
Scope
The project was described by Hon. Ruto in such a way that depicts it is an exemplary model of ethical development in the world. The 4-6 lane dual carriageway is not only accessible, but also safe, efficient, and climate sensitive and to facilitate economic development by linking the two major cities of Nairobi and Mombasa in Kenya.
At the moment Kenya’s expressway development consists of one project only – Jomo Kenyatta International Airport-Westlands express way developed by China. The Usahihi Expressway upon completion will be the largest toll road project in Africa which will be a tremendous progress in efforts to develop Kenyan infrastructure.
Construction cost
Construction of Nairobi-Mombasa Expressway is envisaged to cost about $146 million, and is expected to take between three to four years time; a major source of funding expected to be through toll revenues. Following this self-financing concept, it is possible to identify a number of advantages of the given project and consider the overall economic effectiveness of the project in the long term.
President said that Usahihi Expressway will mean much for Kenyan society. He noted that the project enshrines transparency coupled with focus on hard work, challenging the Kenyan citizens to embrace ownership and investment, invoking the uses, own, and need aspects. This process is meant to form a positive feedback loop in terms of what pays off to the stakeholders who participate in the expressway investment: the tropes are specifically chosen to benefit the local communities that will be directly affected by the expressway. The project is estimated to create traffic of employment opportunities, aid local tradespeople and greatly improve the well-being of the Kenyan people.
They’re even putting in electric car chargers to get more people driving eco-friendly vehicles on the highway. That’s pretty sweet.
They made sure to add special animal crossing paths too after talking to wildlife groups. That way the local animals can still do their thing and they won’t mess up nature.
One last thing – there will be trees planted alongside parts of the road to keep noise levels chill for folks living nearby.
In conclusion, the Nairobi- Mombasa Express improved Kenya’s infrastructure development, Modal city as well as embracing sustainable economic development in the country.
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