• Kenya begins $678.5M upgrade of key A8 highway corridor
  
• Project to ease trade-route congestion, boost regional connectivity
  
• Part of plan to build 30,500 km of roads in 10 years

Kenyan President William Ruto on Friday officially launched work to expand the 94-kilometer Gilgil-Nakuru-Mau Summit stretch of the A8 highway. The upgrade is expected to ease chronic congestion along the Northern Corridor, one of East Africa’s busiest trade routes.

The 678.5 million dollar project is being delivered through a public-private partnership by the Chinese consortium Shandong Hi-Speed Road and Bridge International Engineering Co. Ltd. Completion is expected in 2027.

The expansion is part of a wider plan to modernize about 233 kilometers of road linking Nairobi to western Kenya and to regional markets in Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan. A separate 139-kilometer stretch between Nairobi, Naivasha and Gilgil, including a spur road toward Maai Mahiu, will be built by the CRBC-NSSF consortium.

The Gilgil-Nakuru-Mau Summit upgrade will include grade-separated interchanges, improved drainage, wider lanes, pedestrian facilities and enhanced road-safety systems. The improvements are meant to ease congestion in chronically busy areas such as Naivasha, Nakuru and Salgaa, which handle heavy freight and passenger traffic.

Officials say the project will deliver significant economic gains by lowering transport costs, speeding up the movement of goods, particularly perishables, and improving access to schools, hospitals and emergency services. The government also sees it as an important investment in road safety, mobility and Kenya’s competitiveness in the region.

Under a new strategic plan announced last week, the government aims to build nearly 30,500 kilometers of roads over the next decade. This includes 2,500 kilometers of dual carriageways and 28,000 kilometers of other roads.

Henoc Dossa