Details have emerged that the Sh350 billion Mombasa-Nairobi expressway will bypass the capital city after a change of the initial plan.
The Business Daily reports that the state-of-the-art dual carriage motorway will now branch off just past Konza and end along the Nairobi–Nakuru highway at Kikuyu.
The plan is contained in the proposed map on the construction of the superhighway and will consequently extend it to 525 kilometers from the initial 473 kilometers.
The highway will be constructed by an American engineering firm, Bechtel International.
The California-headquartered company is the largest construction and civil engineering company in the United States.
The project’s documents show that the expressway will turn off before reaching Athi River and cut through Ngong before terminating along Nairobi-Nakuru highway at Kikuyu with extensions to Mai Mahiu.
The four-lane road will allow uninterrupted speeds of up to 120 km/h, cutting travel time between Mombasa and Nairobi from 10 to four hours.
The mega infrastructure will be funded by US Export Credit Agencies, including the US Export-Import Bank and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.
Last week, US Ambassador to Kenya Kyle McCarter said the deal for the construction of a multi-billion-shilling expressway will be signed on April 17th.
Its construction was initially expected to begin at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) along the existing Nairobi-Mombasa highway.
The road will run parallel to the current Nairobi-Mombasa highway and will help promote trade and ease movement of people and goods in Kenya and neighboring countries.
“The route will vastly improve the connectivity, efficiency, and safety of the road between Nairobi and the country’s main seaport of Mombasa,” Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) director general Peter Mundinia said in the past.
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