Infrastructure

Kenol-Sagana-Marua Highway Costs Up 50% on Delays

Updated on

March 25, 2025

The much-delayed completion of the Kenol-Sagana-Marua Highway is now set for June, after missing the December 2024 deadline, amid a 49.6% escalation in its costs.

An audit report for the year ending June 2024 shows the government was yet to pay Sh3.66 billion in pending bills, including Sh2.46 billion for land acquisition, Sh1.19 billion for construction, and Sh3.07 million for consultancy services.

The government entered into two contracts for the expansion of the 84-kilometre road into a dual carriageway at a cost of Sh14.6 billion in 2020.

Dualling of the 48km Kenol-Sagana section was expected to cost Sh8.49 billion, with the contractor scheduled to work for three years from October 2020.

The dualling of the 36km Sagana-Marua section was projected to cost Sh6.1 billion, with a three-year construction period starting from October 2020.

“However, the revised contract completion date is set for June 10, 2025. Additionally, the original contract sum totalled Sh6,115,038,571, including contingencies. This was revised to Sh9,146,922,301, including contingencies,” Auditor General Nancy Gathungu said in the report.

Ms Gathungu warned that further delays could increase the project’s costs.

The Kenol-Marua Road project, jointly funded by the AfDB and the Government of Kenya, involves the reconstruction of the 84 km road linking Nairobi with the commercial and agricultural towns of the Central and Upper Eastern regions.

It aims to improve access to northern Kenya and connect neighbouring countries as part of the Great North Road/Trans African Highway.

The road construction is being executed by the Chinese firm Jiangxi Engineering Group, under the supervision of the Kenya National Highway Authority (KeNHA).

Jiangxi Engineering Group is undertaking the project in two lots: the first (48km) runs from Kenol town in Murang’a County to Sagana in Kirinyaga County, while lot 2 stretches from Sagana to Marua in Nyeri County.

Both lots were reportedly 72% and 63% complete, respectively, as of June 2022, with completion of the highway initially slated for December of that year. The AfDB had praised the Kenyan government for its efforts in executing the project.

The bank’s president, Adenisa Akinwumi, who inspected the project in May 2022, said Kenya’s commitment to infrastructure development had allowed the project to progress ahead of schedule without compromising quality.

“The work done on this project is tremendous. I laud the Government of Kenya for selecting the best contractors who are delivering high-quality work. This road will be a major boost to the economic growth of the country,” Dr. Akinwumi said.

AfDB is funding the Kenol-Marua dual carriageway to the tune of Sh5.6 billion.

The Kenol-Marua dual carriageway is a segment of the proposed 219 km Kenol-Isiolo dual carriageway – a key part of the Northern Corridor road network.

The highway starts at the Kenol/Murang’a junction, passing through Makutano, Sagana, and Karatina, before terminating at Marua in Nyeri County.

It is part of the Great North Road, which starts in Cape Town and enters Kenya through Namanga before exiting into Ethiopia at Moyale.

Jiangxi stopped work on a section of the project due to a pending bill of Sh900 million in November 2023. The Chinese firm claimed it had written to KeNHA requesting settlement of the outstanding bill but received no response.

“The decision to suspend the works is regrettable but stems from the repeated failure of the contracting authority to fulfill its contractual obligations,” Wang Ding Tao, the site agent, said on November 17, 2023.

“Specifically, we draw your attention to outstanding payments totalling Sh900 million from IPC21 to IPC31, including accrued interest due to overdue payments.”

Wang said the failure to settle the bill had affected the company’s cash flow with fuel and other materials suppliers, resulting in the stoppage of deliveries.

The issue was later resolved, allowing the project to proceed.