3 firms make shortlist for Mau Summit road toll job

A toll station billboard on the Southern Bypass. FILE photo | nmg 

By BRIAN NGUGI

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Summary

• The successful concessionaire will build, maintain, manage and operate the highway and recover their money from motorists in the form of user fees.
• The government announced mid-March that it would soon implement the controversial road tolling programme on major roads under the public-private sector partnership.
• The targeted roads include Nairobi’s Southern Bypass, Nairobi-Nakuru Highway, Nairobi-Mombasa Highway and Thika Superhighway.

Plans to have motorists pay for use of selected roads have moved a notch higher, with the shortlisting of three firms for the planned construction of the Nairobi-Nakuru-Mau Summit Highway.

The successful concessionaire will build, maintain, manage and operate the highway and recover their money from motorists in the form of user fees.

The government announced mid-March that it would soon implement the controversial road tolling programme on major roads under the public-private sector partnership.

Under the plan, private players will be enlisted to build roads and levy charges to recover their costs with some return on their investment.

The targeted roads include Nairobi’s Southern Bypass, Nairobi-Nakuru Highway, Nairobi-Mombasa Highway and Thika Superhighway.

The Kenya National Highways Authority (Kenha) said Tuesday in a notice that one of the three consortia shortlisted comprises Portuguese, Egyptian, South African, and French firms namely Aiim, Egis, Mota-Engil and Orascom consortium.

The second consortium includes Indian and Singaporean firms ITNL International Pte LTd (IIPL) and IL&FS Transportation  Networks Kimited (ITNL).

The third consortium has French firms Rift Valley Connect, Vinci Highways SAS, Meridian Infrastructure Africa Fund (MIAF) and Vinci Concessions SAS.

One firm is to be picked to carry out the design, financing construction, operation, maintenance and transfer of the Nairobi -Nakuru-Mau Summit Highway.

Stanley Kamau, the director of public private partnerships (PPPs) unit at the Treasury, disclosed in March that the Cabinet had approved the tolling policy and only “a few additional steps” were required to prepare for implementation.

“One of the remaining steps is to extend the consultation to the public and convey to them the benefits of these projects” said Mr Kamau.