KeNHA says contract for Nairobi-Maai Mahiu highway upgrade yet to be awarded

The Project encompasses approximately 175 kilometres of the A8 Road (Rironi-Nakuru-Mau Summit) and 58 kilometres of the A8 South Road (Rironi-Maai Mahiu-Naivasha) through a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) model.

In a statement, KeNHA, the contracting authority, noted that the project remains pending due to the delayed approval by the PPP committee since no private contractor has been awarded the contract.

KeNHA said that in 2025, it received three Privately Initiated Proposals (PIPs) for the construction of the A8 and A8 South Road Projects.

The proposals were from Shandong Hi-Speed Road and Bridge International Engineering Company Limited (SDRBI), China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), with the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) Board of Trustees Consortium and Multiplex Partners Company Limited, a Burundi-registered infrastructure project development financing firm.

Multiplex, however, did not pay the mandatory non-refundable proposal review fee at PIP submission, and it was dismissed on 1st of August, 2025.

The submissions were then forwarded to the PPP committee, which decided that the CRBC and NSSF consortium was the preferred proponent of running the project.

KeNHA said that the approval only allows it to commence negotiations with the Chinese contractor as it awaits the committee's green light.

The Authority projects that the upgrading project will significantly enhance connectivity between Nairobi, Central Kenya, the Rift Valley, and Western Kenya, hoping to significantly reduce travel time and vehicle operating costs.

The project has met stiff rejection from the Motorist Association of Kenya (MAK) and other Kenyans, who have argued that it is a scheme to deceive Kenyan motorists and taxpayers by benefitting foreign parties through the proposed toll charges along the mega road.

MAK has argued that the toll-based PPP model does not protect taxpayers from long-term fiscal exposure and will only transfer sovereign liability from open budgetary scrutiny into private contracts hidden under commercial secrecy clauses.

It further argued that CRBC, as the preferred bidder, is a hoax, noting that it is a Chinese government entity and not a private investor, hence breaching the dictates of a PPP deal.

PPP Directorate Eng. Kefa Seda has said that the PPP deal will remain fully owned by the State, and that tolling will be tightly regulated to safeguard public interests.