NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 11 – President William Ruto has set April 2027 as the new completion deadline for the Rironi-Mau Summit highway, bringing forward an earlier commitment to deliver the major road project by June 2027.
Ruto said the first phase would connect Rironi to Mau Summit, after which the government would begin work on extending the highway to Malaba on the Uganda border, opening up a key trade corridor linking the Port of Mombasa to neighbouring countries.
“I want to assure you that the road will connect Mombasa and neighbouring countries like Uganda. Phase One will reach Mau Summit. I will open the road in April 2027. That is when we will begin the construction of the Mau Summit-Malaba highway,” Ruto said.
The President added that the highway would have four to six lanes along different sections to ease congestion and generate revenue for the country.
“We will construct it with six lanes in some areas and four lanes at some points to reduce congestion and also help us generate revenue,” he said.
The latest timeline marks a shift from the deadline Ruto announced when he launched the project on November 28, 2025, when he directed contractors to complete the Rironi-Nakuru-Mau Summit highway by June 1, 2027, coinciding with Madaraka Day celebrations.
The 233-kilometre project, valued at about Sh184 billion to Sh200 billion in various reports, is being implemented through a public-private partnership involving the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), China Road and Bridge Corporation and Shandong Hi-Speed Road and Bridge International. It includes the Rironi-Naivasha section, the Rironi-Mai Mahiu-Naivasha route and the Gilgil-Nakuru-Mau Summit stretch.
The highway is expected to ease persistent traffic congestion along the Nairobi-Nakuru route, reduce travel time and vehicle operating costs, and improve the movement of passengers and cargo to western Kenya and neighbouring countries.
Ruto’s revised deadline comes as construction progresses on individual sections. Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir said the Rironi-Naivasha section was expected to open to traffic by October 30, 2026, while he had maintained that the wider corridor would be completed by June 2027.
The planned extension from Mau Summit to Malaba is a separate project that would upgrade the existing highway through Eldoret towards the Uganda border. The government has been preparing the 237-kilometre corridor for development under a public-private partnership, with Treasury targeting June 2027 for construction to begin.
