Government partners private companies to build roads, evade debts

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American firm Betchel will fund the Sh300 billion Nairobi-Mombasa expressway with the works set to start by June. The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) announced recently that it would soon declare the winner of Nairobi-Mau Summit highway bid. Two consortia have submitted their bids for the lucrative Sh180 billion project. The first consortium is made of Aiim, Egis, Mota-Engil and Orascom. The second one is Rift Valley Connect comprising Vinci Highways SAS, Meridian Infrastructure Africa Fund and Vinci Concessions SAS. Economics lecturer Dr Samuel Nyandemo supports the government decision to turn to the PPP model to finance infrastructure projects saying it will help control the ballooning foreign debt. "It will prevent the government from borrowing expensive loans. Once the investors recoup their investment, they hand the project to the government," he said. Dr Nyademo termed the government's multimillion projects in the city as vital since they will help ease the traffic problem. "The costs of the projects outweigh the millions of shillings that the government loses due to jams," Dr Nyademo said. Currently, it is estimated that up to 60,000 vehicles ply the JKIA-Westland route daily. About 25,000 motorists are expected to use the high-speed road when completed. According to World Bank estimates, Nairobi's traffic jams cost the country about Sh50 million daily in lost man hours.Do not miss out on the latest news. Join the Standard Digital Telegram channel HERE.