Information from Kenya National Highways Authority (Kenha) shows that the Expressway budget was to be fully financed by China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) at an initial cost of Ksh65bn ($559m) in October 2020 – but this has surged by 33% in less than 2 years.
In 2021, the government spent Ksh15.5bn for land compensation and transferring of utilities to pave the way for the construction of the highway. This was followed by Ksh7.6bn explained as a ‘need for extra funding’ by the Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia.
That rapid rise in construction cost is difficult to comprehend and abnormal for a project that proper feasibility was done
An additional Ksh9bn was also injected into the project last week to rehabilitate sections of the old Mombasa Road damaged by CRBC during the construction of the new expressway, setting the total for construction at Ksh97bn.
The most expensive
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