NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 31 – The Rironi-Naivasha section of the Nairobi-Mau Summit highway is expected to open to motorists in early December, Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir has said.
Chirchir gave the update on Friday during an inspection of the road project by the National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Transport and Infrastructure in Naivasha.
He said more than 90 teams were working on the project, with construction progressing at about four kilometres per week. The government has also secured enough bitumen to keep the works going despite reported shortages in the country.
Chirchir said some works would remain at the Naivasha junction, where the government plans to build an interchange with an overpass and an underpass.
The contractor is expected to move to the Gilgil and Mai Mahiu sections, which are also planned for expansion into dual carriageways.
Committee chairman George Kariuki said members were satisfied with the progress, adding that the road would improve transport and trade between counties.
Kariuki also called on leaders to support infrastructure projects rather than politicise them. He cited the government’s road financing securitisation programme, which he said had raised more than Sh200 billion for infrastructure development.
Chirchir said the government was also reviewing contractors’ performance records and carrying out due diligence to prevent firms with a history of abandoning projects from securing public contracts.
