The government of Kenya has announced plans to rehabilitate excavated areas in where the construction of the Sh30 billion Mau Mau Road is on-going.
The Central Regional Commissioner Wilfred Nyagwanga assured residents and said the rehabilitation works will be in conformity with existing environmental requirements. The administrator allayed fears among local residents that the contractor would leave behind unfilled quarries and lose boulders that could later on endanger their lives.
The Sh 168bn road project is a key segment of the Northern Corridor expected to significantly cut the travel time for both people and goods, reducing the cost of doing business time between Nairobi and Mau Summit. It entails expansion of 175Km road from Rironi to Mau Summit into a four-lane dual carriageway and re-carpeting of Rironi โ Mai Mahiu โ Naivasha Road.
Work round the clock
Under the PPP, the private sector will raise finances for the road project, design, construct, maintain and operate the road on pre-agreed standards and specifications. This will be the second road the country has signed PPP on after it handed over the Sh59 bn JKIA-Westland’s Expressway to China Road and Bridge Corporation.
The concession for the road is within a time frame of 30 years. In a bid to speed up the construction of the road which has fallen behind schedule, the government has allowed the contractor to work round the clock to make up for the lost time.
KeNHA awarded the tender for the road to French firm Meridiam International, with others in the consortium including Vinci Highways SAS and Vinci Concessions SA. The road upon completion will also compliment the standard gauge railway (SGR) services between Naivasha and Malaba Border.
