Kenya vows to bridge gaps with new partnership model

More infrastructure projects will be built in Kenya under the public-private partnership model, following the success of the country's first toll expressway financed and constructed by China, according to a senior Kenyan official.

While attending the launch of Haile Selassie, a newly completed exit of the iconic Nairobi Expressway, over the weekend, Kipchumba Murkomen, Kenya's cabinet secretary for roads, transport and public works, said the government will shield investors from political risks and disclosed that plans are afoot to construct another expressway through the public-private partnership model to connect Nairobi and neighboring rural towns.

The 27.1-kilometer Nairobi Expressway, developed through the public-private partnership model between the Kenya National Highways Authority and China Road and Bridge, cuts travel time between Nairobi's international airport and the city's bustling central business district from two hours to just 20 minutes during peak hours.

"The exit will make it possible to handle traffic fl owing into the central business district which is also the seat of government where the office of the president, parliament and judiciary are located," Murkomen said.

The Haile Selassie exit has five toll lanes and its construction started in July 2023.

According to Moja Expressway Company, the thoroughfare's operator, it has recorded a total traffic volume of 29 million so far, while its daily average traffic volume has increased from 10,000 trips to about 65,000 trips on weekdays, a sixfold increase.

The Nairobi Expressway, which has 15 entrances and 15 exits, has more than 200,000 users who have subscribed to its electronic toll collection service, according to the operator.

Murkomen said the investment is unique because the operator of the project is responsible for attracting enough traffic.

"Many other (public-private partnership projects) have failed in the past, because the investors insisted on a system where the government of Kenya collects the toll and meets the difference just in case they are unable to make the amount of money they need monthly," he said.

Murkomen said the future of Kenyan roads is the public-private partnership model, terming it the best way of raising revenue.