The national government of the Republic of Kenya through the Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure, Housing, Urban Development and Public Works represented by the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA), a state corporation established under the Kenya Roads Act and charged with the mandate to manage, develop, rehabilitate and maintain national roads is in search of a consultancy firm for the ongoing Nairobi Expressway Project.
The authority has already published a tender notice that is valid until the 4th of August this year, inviting proposals from qualified and experienced consulting firms with the capacity to independently assist in the management of the implementation of the project agreement between the authority and the contractor, China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC).
The selected firm will be given the mandate to review plans by CRBC, inspect, and monitor the progress of construction works and eventually conduct tests on the road before issuing the contractor a certificate of completion.
The Nairobi Expressway Project
The Nairobi Expressway Project is a 27-kilometer road project beginning from Mlolongo through the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and Nairobi’s CBD to Westland’s area along Waiyaki Way.
The project broke grounds in October last year with China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) as the contractor. The latter is responsible for the design, financing, and construction of the road under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) framework. The company will also operate the road for about 27 years so as to recoup its investment through the collection of road tolls.
The over US$ 560M road project is the first major project in the East African country to be carried out through a PPP model. It is expected to be completed by December 2022, bringing the much-needed relief to traffic congestion in the Nairobi municipality.
According to Peter Mundinia, KeNHA Director-General, the road will significantly reduce the time spent on Mombasa road at rush hour from approximately two hours to between 10 and 15 minutes.
Extract from constructionreviewonline.com