NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 10 – The Nairobi Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (NaMATA) has accumulated more than Sh1 billion in interest charges from delayed payments for the construction of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) facilities along the Thika Road Superhighway, an Auditor-General’s report has revealed.
The Auditor-General said NaMATA’s trade and other payables stood at Sh2.5 billion as of June 30, 2025, with Sh1.038 billion representing interest accumulated from delayed payment of certificates issued for the design and construction of the project.
The Auditor-General said the additional interest arising from delayed payments meant there was no value for money in the BRT project.
The report indicated that contingent liabilities relating to cost claims stood at Sh745.1 million, while delays and suspension of works resulted in a Sh1.78 billion cost overrun, equivalent to 32 percent of the contract price.
The Auditor-General flagged the project as stalled, noting that the works-in-progress balance stood at Sh3.11 billion, representing works certified to date.
“The work-in-progress balance remained the same as from the previous financial years. The WIP entails a contract on the Design and Build Project for the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) facilities on Thika Superhighway Corridor,” the Auditor-General stated.
“This contract was undertaken by a firm in Joint Venture with another firm at a contract sum of Kshs.5,575,071,798. However, the payments to the joint venture were delayed, and the company suspended the works from 11 January, 2022.”
The BRT project is part of NaMATA’s plan to establish an integrated mass rapid transit system for Nairobi and the surrounding metropolitan area.
The Authority has identified five BRT corridors — NDOVU (Line 1), SIMBA (Line 2), CHUI (Line 3), KIFARU (Line 4) and NYATI (Line 5) — covering key transit routes and linking with existing and proposed commuter rail lines.
“Following a detailed corridor harmonization study in 2014, the Ministry of Transport identified five BRT corridors and seven commuter rail corridors. These were subsequently gazetted by the Nairobi Metropolitan Area Council in 2019 and now serve as the blueprint for long-term investments in sustainable mobility,” NaMATA stated.
NaMATA also plans to develop seven commuter rail corridors connecting Nairobi to satellite towns, including Limuru, Ruiru, Thika, Athi River, Konza, JKIA and Ngong.
