The Government through Infrastructure and Planning yesterday unveiled five key road projects to be constructed and maintained through the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.
Speaking yesterday, Infrastructure Principal Secretary Eng John Mosonik said that the government has planned the dualing and upgrade of the Nairobi-Mombasa highway, Nairobi-Nakuru-Mau Summit road as well as a second bridge in Nyali in a bid to ease congestion in Mombasa.
The projects will be undertaken by the private sector who will recover their investment in the course of the life of the projects.
Other projects to be executed through this innovative private capital initiative includes the operation and maintenance of the Nairobi-Thika Road, which was constructed in 2013, and the operation and maintenance of Nairobi Southern By-pass whose construction has just been completed.
“We have deliberately decided to focus on major highways and trade routes in a bid to improve transport infrastructure and reduce costs of business in the country and the region at large,” said Eng Mosonik.
Currently transport cost accounts for around 30 per cent of the cost of goods and services across the region due to poor infrastructure and the thousands of man-hours lost in traffic on a daily basis.
“These projects will not only greatly cut down costs for motorists in terms of fuel savings, lost man hours and car maintenance costs, but will also be expected to greatly spur economic activity along the corridors they pass, in a similar fashion to what Nairobi-Thika Road has done,” added the PS.