A consortium led by French infrastructural firm Vinci secured a 30-year concession contract in 2019 to build and operate the Nairobi-Nakuru highway that is being built under the public-private partnership (PPP) model.
The AfDB told the Business Daily on Friday that the funding will pave way for the start of the 233-kilometre road project that will see the road expanded into a four-lane dual carriageway.
The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) picked the Rift Valley Connect consortium, comprising Vinci Highways SAS, Meridian Infrastructure Africa Fund and Vinci Concessions SAS as the preferred bidder for the project.
The African Development Bank’s (AfDB) says it is part of a syndicate of financial institutions set to conclude talks to fund the construction of the Sh180 billion upgrade of the Nairobi-Nakuru highway.
A consortium led by French infrastructural firm Vinci secured a 30-year concession contract in 2019 to build and operate the Nairobi-Nakuru highway that is being built under the public-private partnership (PPP) model.
The AfDB told the Business Daily on Friday that the funding will pave way for the start of the 233-kilometre road project that will see the road expanded into a four-lane dual carriageway through a PPP model raising hope of reducing traffic congestion on the northern corridor.
The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) picked the Rift Valley Connect consortium, comprising Vinci Highways SAS, Meridian Infrastructure Africa Fund and Vinci Concessions SAS as the preferred bidder for the project.
“We are looking to be part of the financing group for the Nairobi-Nakuru road project,” said AfDB Vice President for the Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialisation Complex Solomon Quaynor in an interview.
“We are looking to (fund the project) as a financing syndicate. These projects are too large for any one of us. Even for prudent financial means, we don’t do 100 percent of financing a project.”
The construction of the toll highway from Nairobi to Mau Summit was expected to begin in September 2021, Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia had said earlier.
“The project is moving,” said Mr Quaynor.
“Infrastructure projects experience delays for various reasons. Some of it could relate to the quality of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment which is something that we pay attention to. Some of it could relate to the negotiation of the concession agreement between governments and private sector.”
“The good news is that we are headed towards completing the financing syndicate and my hope then is that we are headed towards a financial close and the construction of the project starting.”
Participation of the AfDB in the French-backed project signals the French firm building the road has cast its net wider in sourcing funds for the key mega project.
The deal to build the road by the French consortium was signed during President Emmanuel Macron’s two-day visit to Kenya in 2019, as Paris renewed its bid to deepen economic ties with Nairobi.
Chinese and Japanese companies have relied on homegrown financial institutions to carry out mega projects in Kenya.
China's EximBank has for instance provided more than $149 billion for Belt and Road projects around the world including in Kenya.
30 years of toll collection
The Japan Bank for International Cooperation has also supported key projects being built by Japanese firms.
The French consortium is expected to design, finance, construct, operate and maintain the expressway.
The firm will then recoup its finances using the revenues and income generated by the electronic toll collection system along the road over a period of 30 years.
The project will also involve widening of the existing Rironi- Mai Mahiu–Naivasha road to becoming a seven-metre carriageway with two-metre shoulders on both sides, construction of a four-kilometre elevated highway through Nakuru town, and building and improvement of interchanges along the highway.
