Planned Dualling of Eastern, Northern Bypass in Top Gear

The planned expansion of Eastern and Northern Bypass roads in Nairobi has moved closer to reality after the Kenyan government obtained a Sh2 billion loan for the project.

Treasury documents tabled in the National Assembly this week have revealed that Kenya has secured Sh2 billion for the project from an undisclosed financier.

The loan, signed on September 28, 2021, is yet to be released to the government.

The 52km road, which is under the Kenya Urban Roads Authority, starts at City Cabanas through Ruai towards Ruiru passing over Thika Road to Ruaka where it joins the Northern Bypass.

The project aims to ease perennial traffic jams on the two roads.

Dualling of Northern and Eastern Bypass appeared imminent in September 2017 when Transport Secretary James Macharia said his ministry was preparing MOUs that would be shared with shortlisted contractors to help unlock financing for the project.

“Dualling should have been done from day one. They should not have done that road without dualling it,” Mr Macharia said. “We want to accelerate the dualling and have it done as soon as we arrange financing and that’s why we’re processing these memoranda of understanding.”

The documents, he said, would provide the roadmap for the design and costing of the multi-billion-shilling project that has a two-year construction timeline.

Not much has happened since.

Belt and Road Forum

The Eastern Bypass dualling project was among 11 mega projects that Kenya showcased to international investors during the Belt and Road forum in Beijing, China, in May 2017.

The Eastern Bypass expansion design and execution were done by the Kibaki government as part of Kenya’s Vision 2030 infrastructure projects. Its costs, together with that of the Northern Bypass, overshot the initial Sh8.5 billion budget due to land acquisition costs.

In January 2018, Sinohydro Limited of China signed a commercial agreement with Kenya to undertake Northern Bypass expansion, setting the stage for a new round of fundraising for the 31-kilometre road project.

READ: Chinese Firm Wins Nairobi’s Northern Bypass Dualling Tender

“We are looking forward to getting funds from prospective financiers. We hope the project together with the Eastern Bypass dualling will cost between Sh30 billion and Sh40 billion. This should be sorted out in the next three months,” Mr Macharia said.

The Northern Bypass, which was completed a few years ago, is one of the government’s key projects aimed at transforming Nairobi into a regional business hub.

It starts from Ruaka on Limuru Road, overpasses Banana Road through Runda and Thome estates. It then proceeds to Kahawa West and finally to Ruiru, through Kamae, where it joins the Eastern Bypass.

China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) undertook phase one of the project.

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