Kenya Rejects US Firm’s Expressway, to Upgrade Existing Nairobi-Mombasa Road

The Kenyan government will expand the 461km Nairobi-Mombasa highway to a four-lane tolled road, abandoning plans from US firm Everstrong Capital to build a new 419km expressway. The Treasury’s PPP Directorate received bids for a transaction advisor to restructure the project on May 8. This advisor will assess the project’s feasibility and procure a private investor for the upgrade.

The government rejected Everstrong’s proposal last July, citing weaknesses in its financial structure and the need to acquire extensive land for a greenfield alignment. Concerns that land acquisition costs would inflate toll charges also contributed to the decision. The project faced further setbacks when Portuguese firm Mota-Engil, partly owned by a Chinese company, withdrew from the consortium due to objections from US financiers.

The government now believes upgrading the existing highway will lower costs, reduce delays, and minimise land speculation. The Nairobi-Mombasa highway is a crucial trade route connecting the port of Mombasa to Kenya’s neighbours.