10 firms bid for dualling of 175km Rironi-Mau Summit road

[LangatKipro]

10 firms bid for dualling of 175km Rironi-Mau Summit road
Feb. 18, 2017, 12:00 pm
By PATRICK VIDIJA, @vidijapatrick
About 10 renowned road construction companies have expressed interest to build an expanded Nairobi - Nakuru - Mau Summit Road.

Kenya National Highways Authority (Kenha) said on Friday that the ten have sent their bids following a Request for Qualification.

The roads agency invited competent local and international firms to express interest in undertaking the 175-kilometre road project.

The project includes expansion of the said road into a four-lane dual carriageway highway from Rironi to Mau Summit.

The re-carpeting of Rironi – Mai Mahiu – Naivasha Road (Escarpment Road) is also part of the expansion plan.

The firm that wins the tender will also be expected to operate and maintain the recently constructed Nairobi Southern Bypass.

The qualified bidder will as well maintain the Gitaru – Rironi section, whose re-construction has just commenced under James Gichuru – Rironi Road Project.

Read: James Gichuru, Rironi route to get Sh16 billion upgrade

Also read: Waiyaki Way-Rironi road set for Sh16 billion expansion into six lane highway


More on this: Firm starts upgrade of Waiyaki Way into new superhighway

George Kiiru, the project's pre-qualification committee chairman, said the upgrade will be undertaken on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) basis.

He said the private sector will raise finance for the road project, design, construct, maintain and operate the road on pre-agreed standards and specifications.

"The concession for the road is planned for a period of 30 years. It is quite gratifying to note the strong interest we have witnessed right on the onset of this project," he said.

"...we are sure the evaluation will yield strong candidates to tender for the project," Kiiru said.

Nairobi – Nakuru – Mau Summit road is part of the Northern Corridor and is considered among the most important link roads in the region.

"It transports most of the west-bound cargo from the Port of Mombasa and Nairobi," the Kenha official said.

Kiiru said the project, once complete, will significantly reduce the time taken to travel between Nairobi and Mau Summit.

It is envisioned to end the perennial traffic jam experienced by motorists between Nakuru and Gilgil as well as reduce accidents on the route.

 

[LangatKipro]

Great. That will be an awesome experience driving from Nairobi all the way to Nakuru up to Mau Summit on a dual carriage way. Kenya is surely developing rapidly. By 2025 Kenya infrastructure will be world class

 

[MK254]

Wow I can imagine spinning the wheels at 110km/h going to Nkr.

 

[LangatKipro]

The total length of the road is 175 km dual carriageway with interchanges in Nakuru town. This will certainly transform Nakuru town into a competitive city. Many people will work in Nairobi and choose to live in Nakuru

 

[Depay]

Awesome news. This should be done quickly quickly. That road is just congested.You meet a heavy jam in the middle of nowhere

 

[Sammuel999]

Awesome news. This should be done quickly quickly. That road is just congested.You meet a heavy jam in the middle of nowhere

A case of Direct translation Aye?

 

[Depay]

A case of Direct translation Aye?

Lol!!! Haraka Haraka I say... Tihihi

 

[Edward Wanjala]

Waaaaaw, that is what we call a roll!!! Kenya is on a roll!!! Six Lanes James Gichuru Rironi then four lane Rironi Nakuru will be a perfect outcome, Hope in the near future they extend Nakuru Eldoret into four lanes!!

I have seen what Thika road has done to this side of Nairobi, Construction is literally joining Thika to Nairobi forming a massive town. In four years, they will have been joined completely!!

 

[Depay]

Waaaaaw, that is what we call a roll!!! Kenya is on a roll!!! Six Lanes James Gichuru Rironi then four lane Rironi Nakuru will be a perfect outcome, Hope in the near future they extend Nakuru Eldoret into four lanes!!

I have seen what Thika road has done to this side of Nairobi, Construction is literally joining Thika to Nairobi forming a massive town. In four years, they will have been joined completely!!

I also feel Mombasa to Voi should be dualled.

 

[Edward Wanjala]

I also feel Mombasa to Voi should be dualled.

There were studies sometime back for the dualling of the whole Mombasa Nairobi road, i dont know where it reached

 

[Depay]

There were studies sometime back for the dualling of the whole Mombasa Nairobi road, i dont know where it reached

The studies ciuld go into a lull now thanks to the SGR

 

[LangatKipro]

There were studies sometime back for the dualling of the whole Mombasa Nairobi road, i dont know where it reached

Dualling of Mombasa Nairobi is still on course. In fact it will be converted into superhighway with 6 lanes three lanes either direction but 12 lanes while leaving mombasa. Take a look at this Plans afoot for six-lane Mombasa highway

 

[LangatKipro]

Mombasa nairobi superhighway will be built under ppp model.The target of completion is by 2022
POLITICS AND POLICY
State invites bids for expansion of Nairobi-Mombasa highway
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2016 20:40

A TRAFFIC JAM ALONG MOMBASA ROAD. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP NATION MEDIA GROUP

Planned expansion of the Nairobi-Mombasa road into a six-lane super-highway is expected to begin in the next couple of months with the invitation of bids for the project.


Transport and Infrastructure secretary James Macharia said the government planned to build the road through a Public Private Partnership (PPP), but fell short of indicating whether it will be Kenya’s first pay -for- use highway as has been suggested.

Expansion of the two-lane road into a six- lane modern highway should offer relief to motorists on the busy highway that links Kenya’s capital Nairobi to the port of Mombasa.

“We have developed plans to do it (the expansion) in terms of having a PPP framework,” Mr Macharia said during a business luncheon organised by the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA). He said his ministry would soon make public the framework for the partnership, adding that the road would begin with a 12- lane highway on Mombasa island before narrowing into a six-lane highway to Nairobi.

The 485-kilometre highway is part of the Great North Road that moves more than 50 per cent of all goods traded in East Africa.

Nearly all of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan’s imported goods reach their destinations via this road, making it an important regional economic asset.

More than 90 per cent of all goods landing at Mombasa port are ferried by road, underlining the build-up of pressure on it as traffic volumes continue to grow.

The port handled 1.07 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of cargo last year, up from 695,000 TEUs in 2010, signifying rising trade volumes in the region.

That growth has, however, not been matched with equal expansion of the infrastructure over the past 50 years. The Nairobi-Mombasa road has, for instance, remained a single-carriageway despite the huge increase in the number of private cars, buses and trucks transporting cargo.

The narrow highway has sometimes suffered painful gridlocks lasting for days and deadly accidents, mainly from head-on collisions.

Mr Macharia said expansion of the road, together with the ongoing construction of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), are part of a plan to create an integrated transport system for the port.

“The port cannot be seen in isolation – it should be seen as an integral part of infrastructure development,” he said.

Mr Macharia did not indicate what kind of PPP model would be used to build the road, but the government has in recent years flirted with the idea of introducing toll roads.

Another possible model is the annuity programme that the State has already introduced to develop other roads.

READ: PwC to advise on Mombasa-Nairobi road expansion

The toll model would involve converting the current taxpayer funded road into a quasi-public highway where motorists would pay for use.

But that would require the building of separate toll free roads to avoid legal challenges that come with forcing everyone to move on the toll road.

It has been successfully argued in many jurisdictions that introducing tolls on major roads without providing viable toll-free alternatives amounts to a breach of citizens’ right to free movement.

Under the annuity financing model, contractors access government guaranteed loans from banks to enabling them to design, build and maintain the roads. The Treasury then pays the loans in equal instalments (annuity) over a period of time, starting from the time of completion.

The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) early last month indicated that it was in talks with the American Export-Import bank to fund the project as a PPP.

“Our target is to complete the whole stretch by 2022,” KeNHA director-general Peter Mundinia said during an Infrastructure summit at State House, Nairobi in August.

Plans for the expansion of the road kicked off in February 2015 when the government hired consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers to conduct a feasibility study on the commercial and technical viability of the project.

It is expected that the Mombasa-Nairobi section of the SGR, expected to be ready by June 2017, will take a huge chunk of cargo and passenger traffic out of the highway.

Expansion of the road should see the highway regain some of its competitiveness offering transporters a choice between road and railway.

Besides the Nairobi-Mombasa highway, the government also plans to expand the 157km Nairobi-Nakuru highway into a dual carriage status under a PPP model to improve the flow of traffic to Western Kenya and beyond.

 

[LangatKipro]

An American Engineering Company expressed interest to built the superhighway but the first one to be prioritized is Nairobi Nakuru because of traffic jams and frequent accidents
US firm likely to fund Kenya's six-lane freeway



SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 24 2016










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NEW YORK

Talks on funding the construction of a six-lane highway got off on the right foot after the Kenyan and US government and an engineering firm held a successful meeting.

Elizabeth Littlefield, head of the US government's Overseas Private Investment Corporation (Opic), and the construction company signed a “letter of interest” regarding the Nairobi-Mombasa highway project on the sidelines of the US-Africa Business Forum in New York on Wednesday.

California-based Bechtel, one of the world's largest engineering and construction companies, is also involved in the financing discussions.

The US Export-Import Bank is simultaneously working with Bechtel to secure investment for the 485-kilometre expressway.

It is intended to speed up commerce and travel between Kenya's main port of Mombasa and cities throughout East Africa.

Opic's role in the emerging deal would be to insure Bechtel against breach of contract.

The Export-Import Bank would assist Bechtel in developing the project.

“With the support of the US government agencies such as Opic and the Export-Import Bank, we can provide solutions to move this critical project forward quickly with a high standard of quality and safety,” said Andrew Patterson, Bechtel’s regional president for Africa.

The Obama administration's move to help Bechtel secure a deal to build the road coincides with the opening in Nairobi of an Opic office.

The agency's new regional headquarters in the Kenyan capital will facilitate US businesses' participation in infrastructure development throughout East Africa.

Opic is currently involved in several projects in Kenya.